


Stray Paper

by sngsngsnyrslp



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-04-17 20:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4680218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sngsngsnyrslp/pseuds/sngsngsnyrslp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Madge is perfectly content with her life in the small town of Stars Hollow until Gale, the new guy from the big city comes into the picture. <br/>Gilmore Girls!AU [Gilmore Girls knowledge is not necessary] <br/>It's pretty much a highschool!AU to be honest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gale arrives to Stars Hollow.

           

It was an easy task finding his uncle Haymitch in the small crowd of people waiting for their loved ones arrival at the bus stop. He was the only one with his mother’s nose and inky black hair. Duffle bag in hand, Gale approached his uncle.

            “Did you get taller?”

            Gale scoffed. “Well I do eat my Wheaties.”

            “That would do it.” Haymitch chuckled, leading him across the town square toward a hardware store, which he noticed on closer inspection was a diner.

            “This was your grandfather’s hardware store.”

            He nodded, following his uncle through the front of the diner, through a maroon curtain and up the stairs to the apartment where he would be staying for the time being.  

            Haymitch reached into this pocket for his keys to unlock the door. His mother had warned him that it would be small. It had been his grandfather’s office when he was alive, but his uncle remodeled the place into an apartment.

            “I know you don’t want to be here and honestly kid I don’t particularly want you here either. I happen to like my privacy, but you and I both know I can’t say no to your mother. So you and I are just going to have to make the most of this, alright?”

            Gale dropped his duffle bag, eyeing the air mattress on the floor.

            “Yeah, that’s where you’ll be sleeping for a few days or until I get around to getting to the store to buy you a real bed.”

            He nodded, glancing around at the small apartment. No wonder Haymitch didn’t want him here it was the size of a studio, barely enough room for one person. Granted, he lived in a two bedroom with four other people so he wasn’t worried about how miniscule the apartment was. He had managed with worse.

            Gale crouched down, dumping the contents of his bag onto the inflatable bed. It was mostly books, t-shirts and boxers. His mother was going to send the rest of things, hopefully sooner rather than later. “I’ll be back,” he called out grabbing his copy of _Drown_ and his pack of Marlboros and heading out the door.

            Haymitch opened his mouth to ask where he thought he was going, but decided against it. If he could survive seventeen years in the city, he was damn sure the kid could find his way around here. He adjusted his baseball hat and walked to the phone dialing his sister’s number.

            “Your son just arrived, limbs and attitude in tact... No, he’s fine... I don’t know. He’s a pretty surly kid, Hazelle, got that from his father... I’ll tell him to call when he gets back... He went to look around town, what do you mean? Hazelle if he can get around on the subway he can make three lefts and find his way back to the center of town. He’ll call you later. Just stop worrying. Yeah. Bye. Tell the kids I say hello.”

            Haymitch sighed. This was going to be a pain in his ass; that much he was sure about.

            xx

            Haymitch was wiping down a table when his nephew came through the door, the smell of smoke following him as he moved past the curtain that led to the back. Hazelle had warned him, so he wasn’t surprised about the pack of cigarettes in the back pocket of his nephew’s jeans. If that was the worst thing he had to deal with concerning his teenage nephew, he would consider himself lucky.

            Pulling back the curtain, he yelled upstairs, “People invited us over for dinner, so get showered and don’t you dare smoke up there!”

            Before turning he heard Gale’s quick descending steps down the stairs. “Who are these people?”

            Haymitch wiped down a now empty table, pocketing the tip. “They’re just some people that are kind of crazy, but a whole less crazy than the rest of this town. There’s Madeline, that’s whose house we’re going to, and her daughter, Madge, is about your age. She’s a sweet kid so you’ll probably get along if you can get that frown off of your face long enough to hold a decent conversation. Try and have an open mind, alright? So go take a shower and comb your hair.”

            xx                       

             Haymitch warned him to be polite before he rang the doorbell. “You know, it wouldn’t kill your James Dean image if you smiled a bit.”

            Gale groaned. “You know I’ve been around people before. I know how to act around strangers.”

            A blonde woman who looked to be in her early thirties answered, her hair in a low bun at the base of her neck. She wore a blue sweater that matched her eyes with jeans and flats. She gave him a warm smile. “You must be Gale. Mitch has told me a lot about you,” she backed into the house, opening her arm to welcome them inside. “I’m Madeline,” she glanced over at his uncle with soft eyes, “But he probably already told you that.” She ran her fingers through the loose bits of hair around her face. “Feel free to take a glance around while I grab some plates.”

            Haymitch’s eyes followed her as she walked away.

            The house reminded him of his home in New York. It was a whole lot bigger than the small apartment he was used to, but it was just as full of life, not to mention warm and welcoming. Just about every available surface was filled with a knick-knack or photo. Gale meandered around the room, blocking out the conversation happening between Haymitch and Madeline. He took note of a particular photograph hanging on the wall of two blondes. One was Madeline, her hair was in the same low bun, but her arms were thrown around a teenager with the same bright blue eyes and blonde hair, the younger’s hair was more on the platinum side. Gale wasn’t above admitting that the younger blonde was pretty cute and maybe he wouldn’t mind his time in this Godforsaken place if he had a blonde like her to keep his air mattress warm at night.

            “That’s my daughter, Madge. Actually, she should be in her room if you want to say hi. Down the hall and to the right.”

            Gale raised an eyebrow as he walked down the corridor. It wasn’t too often that a mother wanted him in her daughter’s bedroom, but he wasn’t going to complain.

            There were two people he hadn’t met in the kitchen. A woman with blue hair was over the stove and a tawny-skinned man with heavily pierced ears looked back at him.

            “I’m Gale,” he muttered, raising his hand in greeting.

            “I’m Cinna,” the man started, “And this is Effie.”

            Effie was pale, her skin so light it almost seemed translucent to him. “This must be such a big big day for you!”

            Cinna sent her a look, sending him a smile. “Madge is right in there. The food’s just about ready.”

            “Nice to meet you,” He added before turning toward Madeline daughter’s door. She was sitting at her desk, her ice-blonde ponytail draped over the chair. He smirked as she nodded her head to the music, tapping her pencil on her notebook in what he assumed was to the tune of the song she was listening to. She shook her head from side to side for a moment before returning back to the beat of the song.

            He grinned, lightly kicking the leg of her chair. She jumped out of her seat, tearing her headphones off. “What is your problem, Mom?”

            Gale smirked down at her.

            “You’re not my mom.”

            “No I am definitely not your mother.”

            “Who— You’re Gale, Haymitch’s nephew, right?” She tipped her head, looking him over. “I’m Madge.”

            “Nice meeting you.” He nodded, turning around to examine her bedroom. This wasn’t the first girl’s bedroom he’d been in, but it was the first that was interesting enough for him to look around at. The walls were covered in posters; his eyebrows rose at the Neutral Milk Hotel poster above her bed. But it was the sheer amount of books littering her bedroom that impressed him the most. A bookshelf was packed with novels of all sizes. He took note of some of the authors, mostly classics and a copy of his favorite book of short stories. _Nine Stories._             

            “You’re quite the reader, aren’t you?”

            She stood, peeking over his shoulder at the book in his hands, her small hands tugging on the straps of her oversized overalls. “That’s a great book. You could borrow if you want.”

            He nodded, slipping the slim book back into its place. “Nah, but thanks.”           

            “Do you read a lot?”

            Gale shook his head, his eyes finding the window behind her. He crossed the room toward it. “Does this window open?”

            Madge’s blonde eyebrows furrowed. “Yeah? Just unlatch and push out. Why? Is it too hot in here?”

            “Nah just thought it’d be a pretty good time for us to head out? Shall we?”

            “Shall we what?”

            “Let’s get out of here,” he tipped his head toward the now open window.

            Madge leaned her weight onto one leg, removing her flat to rub her toes on the carpet underneath her feet. “Cinna made a lot of really delicious food and I know you’re from the city so you don’t know this, but there is absolutely nothing going on out there. Trust me.”

            “I don’t even know you.”

            “I’m wearing overalls. I think that makes me look pretty trustworthy.”

            He gazed over her clothes, the faded overalls cuffed for her petite stature with a striped short-sleeved t-shirt underneath. The shirt was being tugged up and through the sides of her overalls he could see her pale skin

            “My mother taught me to never judge a book by its cover.”

            She grinned, her hands coming up to undo her ponytail. Her slender fingers ran through the front of her hair.

            Gale found himself struck by her. He platinum blonde hair was in waves, the tips almost reaching her waist. She slipped her foot back into her flat and reached forward to grab his wrist. “Let’s eat and then I promise I’ll take you on a tour, though I’m warning you, there is nothing to do at this time.”

            xx

            It was a pleasant dinner, but he was much happier to be wandering down the streets.

            “It has this pulse. It’s kind of a cliché, but New York’s like a living breathing person. And you can get Chinese at any time of the night, which is always as a plus.”

            “I do wish Mags’ Seafood Shack was open all night. They have the best egg foo young in the tri-county area.”

            “You gotta be kidding me.”

            “I rarely kid when it comes to food, Gale. You’ll learn that soon enough.”

            He glanced her way, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I don’t doubt that after sitting across from you at dinner.”

            She chuckled, “Don’t ever get between a girl and her dinner rolls. But I can’t help but disagree with you. I think this town is just as alive as New York. Sometimes a whisper can be just as loud as a scream.”

            His eyes raked down her figure and then back up to her face. She was looking away from him, toward the town square.

            “We should head back before they start to worry.”

            He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small book. “Here, thought you might want this.”

            “Is that mine?”

            With a smirk on his lips, he turned away from her, walking toward the diner.

            “Stealing is a crime, y’know!”

            “I borrowed it!” He called back, turning around. “I think you’ll like my additions.”

            “Additions?” She looked down, opening the book to peer inside. “You’ve already read this?”

            He took in the small smile pulling on the edges of her mouth as he backed away. It was a far cry from New York, but maybe this small whispering town had something to say to him and hopefully it sounded like a certain petite blonde.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gale is causing trouble around town.

         

Madge had been reading from her American history textbook, taking notes while draining her coffee, when suddenly a shadow was cast over her notebook.

            Her eyes flickered up; her blue eyes meeting Gale’s grey ones. He smirked down at her, a coffee pot in his hands. “Refill?”

            It still felt odd to see him in the diner, his mouth always twisted in either a scowl or smirk, depending on the circumstance. But it was entertaining watching him interact with his uncle, their humorous sparring matches usually causing her and her mother to giggle behind their burgers. Watching Haymitch get worked up over anything was always amusing.

            She nodded, pushing her mug toward him; her eyes flashing up to meet his and then back to her mug. “I’d ask if that was the homework you were supposed to do last night, but I think I know better.”

            “Smart man.” In fact, the reading assignment wasn’t due for another week, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. She would guess from the look of him that he was too cool for school.

            His gaze was still on her. “Anything I can do for you?” She asked.

            One corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “Nah.”

            He walked past two customers, their mugs raised for a refill.

            Haymitch was probably better off without Gale ignoring or frustrating customers, but too often she found herself glancing in his direction. Sometimes she just watched him and other times she found herself attempting to figure out which book he was reading as he neglected customers at the counter. The book lover in her grimaced at the sight of his folded or rolled-up paperback, but looked on in interest as he wrote furiously in the margins of _A Good Man is Hard to Find._ Maybe she’d ask him for his thoughts later, she thought, scrambling to finish her coffee while simultaneously packing her backpack. There was a bus to Hartford with her name on it.

            xx

            The sight of so many townspeople outside of a planned event unnerved Madge.            

            “I mean what is he looking at? Is he trying to make fun of me or something?” Katniss was mid-rant about Peeta Mellark, her boyfriend’s younger brother, who was in their age, but Madge couldn’t help smiling knowingly at her friend. She knew exactly who Peeta was looking at, the same person he’d been looking at since they were in kindergarten.

            “I wonder what’s going on over there?” The brunette pointed across the street toward Coin’s Market, where a crowd of townspeople was gathered.            

            “Is that police tape?” Katniss grabbed her wrist, dragging her toward the market, pulling her toward the front of the crowd.

            It was a chalk outline right at the entrance to the market and Alma Coin was yelling at poor deputy Darius, her usually tamed grey hair in disarray, her thin finger pointed in his face. On the ground beside their feet was the outline of a body, the kind she’d seen on so many episodes of _Law and Order: Special Victims Unit._ It was surrounded by police tape, blocking anyone from entering Coin’s Market.

            “My partner is making sure everyone is accounted for.”

            “What’s happening now?” Beau Mellark, her boyfriend, appeared behind them, narrowing his eyes at his boss yelling. He was a bit taller than the both of them and therefore had a better chance of seeing what was going on.

            “Someone’s dead and Alma is blaming Darius.”

            “I told Alma that the chalk outline looked fake, but she wouldn’t believe me.”

            “But you have such an honest face!”

            “She must not love me as much as you do,” Beau’s hands went to her hips and he pressed his forehead against hers.

            Katniss groaned, sticking out her tongue. “You guys are insufferable.”

            He stood up to his full height, throwing his arm around Madge’s shoulders. “Katniss, you should be nicer to my brother.”

            The brunette rolled her eyes. “Tell him to fix his staring problem.”

            His chest shook with laughter.

            Madge’s gaze slid past Darius toward the town square where a smirking Gale was looking back at her. There was only one person who would ever actually do something to piss off Alma Coin and that was someone who didn’t know any better.

            Book in hand; his eyes glimmered back at her, a barely-suppressed grin on his lips. She suppressed a smile. Maybe it was just a little funny.

            xx

            Or at least she thought it was until the town meeting. As town select(wo)man, Alma Coin led the meetings, gavel in hand, completely power hungry as the most powerful political figure in the tiny town that was Stars Hollow.

            On their way to the town meeting they’d bumped into Haymitch locking up the diner.

            “Are we early?” Her mother asked.

            “Haymitch is never late, so I think so.” Madge tugged on the sleeves of her jacket, pulling them over her fingers. The night air was colder than she had expected this early in the fall.

            “We should reward ourselves with donuts, Mitch, we’ll only be a minute.”

            Haymitch checked to make sure the door was locked before walking down the steps. “And then we’d be late.”

            Her mother tapped her finger against her chin. “What a conundrum, but I still want a donut.”

            “Maybe after, if you’re good.”

            Haymitch slid open the doors to Johanna’s Gym and then everyone went silent. She was reminded of the teen movies she had always tried to avoid, but her mother forced her to watch because she loved to mock them. The gossipers always stopped talking with the object of their gossip entered the room in those movies.

            “What’s going on?” Haymitch demanded.

            Alma sighed, “The business community needed to have a discussion so we started a little earlier than expected.”

            “I’m a part of the business community and no one told me.”

            “Just be honest with him,” Johanna said from her place beside Alma.

            Alma pursed her lips. “It’s that miscreant nephew of yours.”

            Haymitch narrowed his eyes at her words. “What about him?”

            “He’s the one that drew that chalk outline in front of my store!”

            “You don’t have any proof of that Alma and you know it.”

            “He was seen exiting an arts and crafts store with chalk and was seen around the store late last night. Not to mention that he already has a past.”

            Haymitch shot forward, approaching Alma at her podium, his finger pointed in her direction. “He returned that money and he apologized!”

            “You are missing the point, young man. I was forced to close the market all afternoon because of the stunt that ruffian nephew of yours pulled! That is money right out of my pocket. Mags had to buy the head of lettuce for her lunch in Woodbury because I was closed.”

            Snorting, Haymitch reached into his pocket pulling out his wallet. “How much does a head of lettuce cost? A dollar? Here’s a five. Give me five heads of lettuce. Does that about cover it?”

            “You’re missing the point!”

            “He’s been here for a week! How much damage could he have done?”

            “He was teasing the members of my gym last Tuesday,” Johanna mentioned, arms crossed. “Got everyone all self conscious.”

            “And he took a bouquet of flowers without paying from my flower shop,” Annie added in a small voice.

            “My son said he set off the fire alarm in school,” a voice in the crowd exclaimed.

            “Alright! Alright! Alright!” Haymitch was red in the face from hearing everyone speak ill of his nephew. “Maybe this side should get the tar and this side the feathers. Does that sound good to you?”

            “No one said anything about tar and feathers, Haymitch. We are just having a discussion.”

            Madge watched her mom stand, her blue eyes narrowing at the townspeople who were attacking one of her closest friends. “Leave Haymitch alone! You’re just attacking him now! Any of you could have approached him if you were having a problem with Gale. You’ve got to give him some time to deal!”

            “I’m not saying any of this is a problem, by the way!”

            Her mother faltered before continuing, “Well not that there’s a problem, but if there was a problem you should give him some time to deal with it. We’re talking about a kid here, not the wrong kind of twinkle lights.” Madeline exhaled harshly before sitting back down.

            “Yeah!” Haymitch added. “And to think I was going to stay open just in case anyone was hungry! You guys can starve for all I care!” Madge’s eyes followed his figure storm out of the gym, the door sliding shut with a bang.

            “That was bad,” she muttered to her mother.

            The older woman sighed, “really bad.”

            xx           

            Madge was leaning into her boyfriend’s chest, his arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist, as they walked toward Alma’s market.

            “She’s just so finicky. If I don’t pick it up before five she puts it into this safe in the back and I can’t get it out until tomorrow, but it has to be before five. But then I have to sit through her lecture on saving money in the bank and then that goes straight into investing one’s money in the market to stimulate the economy. And I’m not even listening the entire time, but it’s just _so_ boring.”

            The petite blonde leaned up to kiss her boyfriend’s cheek. “Poor baby.”

            “I’ll be right back, hopefully.”

            Madge glanced down underneath her feet at the slightly faded chalk outline. Beau had spent most of yesterday’s shift trying to clean it completely off, but to no avail.

            “Should you be alone out here? I hear this is a dangerous area.”

            She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “I’m fine.”

            “Are you feeling particularly succinct today?”

            She crossed her arms across her chest. “Pretty much.”

            “Did I do something to offend you?”

            “Not me. You might think of asking Haymitch that question.”

            “What?”

            “You’ve got this whole town against him.”

            “And just how did I do that?”

            “You know what you did, Gale.”

            “Y’know I’m not that familiar on the town’s laws. Did I throw a gum wrapper on the ground? Did I forget to recycle the milk jugs?”

            She gestured toward the ground beneath her feet.

            “Oh. That. What about it?”

            “The entire town knows you did it. They even had a town meeting to discuss it.”

            Gale smirked. “You actually went to that thing? They’re just so _To Kill A Mockingbird_.”

            “Yeah I was there and so was Haymitch and as soon as he got there everyone ganged up on him. They want you gone.”

            “Huh.”

            “Haymitch is just standing there defending you and all you can seem to do is make his life harder! Just go! I don’t want to talk to you anymore!”

            Watching him leave the scene of the crime just further incensed her. “You don’t care at all about Haymitch’s feelings!”

            “You got a second wind?” He turned back around, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

            “You just do whatever you want with no consequences and now you’ve made Haymitch the town pariah!”           

            “He was defending you and all your stupid little pranks and you don’t even care! I guess it’s okay because you’re trying to be Holden Caufield, but I think it really stinks! Haymitch has done a lot for me and my mom and I don’t like to see him get jumped like that!” She huffed. “Second wind over.”

            “I didn’t know they were coming down so hard on him, okay?”

            “Well now you don’t have any excuses.”

            He kicked at the outline on the sidewalk underneath his feet. “It’s kind of funny. You got to admit that much.”

            She chuckled despite herself, glancing down at his feet. “That is so not the point, Gale.”

            “It kind of is.”

            The bells from Coin’s Market chimed. “I got it!” Beau had his check in the air, a smile on his lips.

            “I don’t think you two have met. This is Gale, Haymitch’s nephew. Gale, this is Beau.”

            “Boyfriend?” He asked, sizing him up.

            “Of course,” she answered, pressing herself further into his side.

            “Oh,” he looked toward Beau. “You didn’t say.”

            She rolled her eyes.

            “How you doin’?” he said, his voice loud and simple as if Beau would have a hard time understanding him.

            “Alright, well, see you around.           

            Gale smirked, glancing toward Madge. “Yeah that seems to be the case now, doesn’t it?”

            Madge wrapped an arm around her boyfriend’s waist, both of them watching the brunette male leave.

            “So that’s Gale,” Beau said, his cheek resting on the top of her head.

            “Yeah, that’s Gale.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gale and Beau share a moment.  
> Gale and Madge share a better one.

After talking to Madge, Gale put in an honest effort with Haymitch. It wasn’t really that horrible working the mornings before school, if he ignored the eccentric townspeople. There was Beetee who would return his plate if his eggs touched his pancakes. Plutarch wanted his coffee brewed in a French press. Gale couldn’t help but roll his eyes when he saw the man approach the diner, swearing under his breath as he poured the hot water into the glass French press.

            But he had always been an early riser, waking up early to help his mother get his siblings ready for school. Working in the morning with Haymitch helped keep him occupied so he didn’t have to worry how his family was doing without him. Was Posy being fussy about her braids like she was with him? Was Vick remembering his inhaler? Rory was there, he reminded himself. At thirteen, he was old enough to help with his younger siblings. Maybe he couldn’t braid their little sister’s hair, but he could put her hair into ponytails; that much Gale was certain he could do.

            He had taken the time after the diner closed to fix the broken toaster. There wasn’t a reason to make a big deal about it, so he hadn’t said anything about it. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Madge had begun looking up when Haymitch asked if he had anything to do with the toaster appearing in working order again; he denied touching it.

            On his way out, he noticed Madge’s pink lips curled in a soft smile, her eyes on his back as he walked toward school.

            xx

            That afternoon Haymitch had walked into the apartment above the diner, a scowl on his face like every other day, Gale thought nothing of it.

            “I don’t know how I get roped into these things so often…” Haymitch stormed through the apartment, muttering underneath his breath.

            Gale didn’t bother to ask who he was complaining about or what he was being forced to do against his will. He wasn’t even interested. Haymitch was involved in so many things around this stupid town that Gale couldn’t wrap his head around all of it, or even begin to understand why he did any of it in the first place.

            “And now both of us have to go to that freak show,” he slammed the door of the refrigerator, taking a swig of beer.

            That got Gale’s attention away from the book in his hand. “Wait, what?”

            “Madeline and Cinna! We have to go to this Bracebridge dinner they’re having at the inn with the entire town.“

            “Ahh jeez. Couldn’t you have just said no?”

            Haymitch sent a glare his way, taking another drink from his beer. “You try and say no to them!” Another gulp of beer. “It won’t be that bad,” he attempted to reassure both of them. “It’s free food and free,” he grimaced before he moaned, “entertainment.”

            Gale groaned, pressing his face into his book. “You have got to be kidding me! Why can’t people just enjoy the simple things in life? Like food! That’s your entertainment right there!”

            “You’re not telling me anything new, alright kid? I hate this kind of thing.”

            “This better be worth it!” He called out to his uncle’s retreating back.

            It would be horrible. That much was a given. On the bright side, Madge would be there, or at least he assumed she would be. It was the inn her mother ran and since it was a town get-together he would bet everything he had, which at this point was in a duffle bag in the corner of the apartment, that Madge wouldn’t miss a town gathering for anything.

            So long as he maybe had a few moments with a particular blonde, then he could sit through whatever bullshit entertainment was bound to ruin his meal.

            xx

            There weren’t many people in this town that he outright hated, it was a strong word and his father had taught him not to use it lightly, but he fucking hated Cato.

            He didn’t know if it was an alpha male thing or whatever, but Cato had made it his mission to piss him off. Gale was trying not to completely fly off the handle as quickly as the New York version of himself would have. He was making an effort, or he was trying to.

            But Gale saw red when Cato mentioned his father.

            If memory served him right his exact words were, “I heard he’s here because of his deadbeat father.” Unlike the other times, the words weren’t pointed at him directly. Cato had been talking to someone else loudly enough for Gale to hear him.

            So he punched him. Cato had assumed he was a pushover because he was a loner and liked reading, but he knew how to defend himself.

            Gale wasn’t above sucker punching someone, not if they were running their mouth. He couldn’t ignore or turn the other cheek this time. He’d apologize to Haymitch if need be.

            He had ducked a slow punch Cato sent his way. Cato was a lot heavier than he was, but far less experienced in fighting than he. Gale was in the middle of tackling him when he felt himself being pulled away.

            He could see Beau Mellark, a heroic glint in his eyes, “Hey! Gale, he’s not worth it.” That sentence alone was enough reason for Gale to send a punch his way. He didn’t hear what he said about his father.

            “Hey!” Beau called out. “Gale! Cut it out! I’m not going to fight you!”

            Gale pushed him away. It wasn’t like they knew each other and in the few classes they did share they never spoke. He didn’t ask for him to step in and he was livid that he did. Beau deserved more than a black eye.

            “You knew it was me! Why’d you keep swinging?”

            Shrugging his shoulders, he replied, “What can I say? I had momentum.”

            “I was trying to help you!”

            Gale grabbed his jacket from the snow-covered ground. “No one asked you to.” He threw his backpack over his shoulder and started his trek toward the diner. His shift started in fifteen minutes.

            xx

            Watching Beau Mellark talk shit about him to Madge should not have amused him, but it did. He should not have sent a playful wave in his direction, but it was worth it to see the vein in his forehead pulse.

            Dinner was as shitty as he had expected, but at least Haymitch hated the fancy 18th century inspired food as much as he did. Solidarity meant a lot to him.

            Horse-drawn carriages were not something Gale had ever been interested in short of reading them in a Dickens or Austen novel. Animals were cool and all, but this tiny ass town was not going to look any different from a carriage then it did on foot.

            He had been glancing at some of the paintings on the walls. They were exactly what he would expect to be hung in the lobby of an inn, but he was bored and maybe there was the off chance that one of them was done by Bob Ross. That could at least be interesting.

            Madge was left alone in the lobby, watching her boyfriend get dragged toward the carriages by a blond with a similar build that he could only assume was related to him. Maybe a horse-drawn carriage wouldn’t be so bad. He had been patient in waiting for a moment with Madge to arise and it seemed that the universe was rewarding him.

            A fur blanket was thrown over her lap to keep her warm in the frigid winter air. Her coat wouldn’t have been enough to keep her from freezing since she had only been wearing a party dress underneath. It was silver and brought out the rosy flush on her cheeks. It was modest, right up to her collarbones in the front, but dipped a bit far in the back, far enough that she couldn’t be wearing a bra. He wondered what it would be like to kiss the pale delicate that the dress left uncovered.

            The horse had just barely taken off when he took off with a running start to climb in. She jumped, her blue eyes flashing toward him.

            “You know I never took you for a rule breaker. They clearly said two to a sleigh, no more no less.” He clicked his tongue at her.

            “What are you thinking? That’s dangerous!”

            “If you want I can just hop right back out. The snow’ll break my fall.”

            She crossed her arms over her chest, turning her gaze away from him. “Whatever.”

            He reached into his pockets, grabbing his gloves. It was fucking freezing out here and he was pretty sure if the colder-than-ice attitude Madge was giving him was any indication, she was not willing to share that fur blanket with him. “Are you mad at me or something?”

            “What do you think?”

            “Well, I can’t read your mind.”

            “You fought Beau.”

            “Beau?”

            “My boyfriend.”

            Gale smirked. “He still your boyfriend?”

            She slumped into her seat. “You can jump out now.”

            “I wasn’t fighting him. I was fighting someone else and he got involved all on his own.”

            “He was just trying to help you.”

            “He should take that energy to the local soup kitchen, but me he doesn’t need to worry about.”

            Madge sat up, her hands coming to rest on her lap. “Why were you even fighting in the first place?”

            “Because Cato is a dick.”

            “You were fighting Cato?”

            Gale nodded.

            “Cato is a jerk.”

            He smiled to himself that she hadn’t said ‘dick.’ It wasn’t like he could really imagine her swearing anyway. It was cute.

            “This town is weird and full of jerks.”

            Her arms came back up across her chest. “Then why are you still here?”

            “What do you mean?”

            “It’s winter break. You’re not in school. Why aren’t you back in New York if you hate this town so much.”

            He frowned, the space between his eyebrows crinkling. “My mom didn’t want me to come home.”

            “I don’t believe that.”

            “Haymitch gave it to me straight. Posy, my little sister, had a real tough time getting over the fact that I was leaving. I guess she’s been crying all day, sleeping with my Ramones hoodie as a blanket and my ma didn’t think it was such a good idea for me to come back just to leave in a week.”

            Madge’s blonde eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “You have a sister?”            

            “And two younger brothers.”

            “Really?”

            “Why would I lie about that?”

            “I’m not saying you’re lying I just can’t imagine you with siblings, kind of had you pegged as an only child.”

            “Why? You wanted us to have yet another thing in common?”

            She pushed him gently, giggling.

            They had a few comfortable moments of silence as they passed his uncle’s diner. He noticed that he had left the lights on upstairs. Haymitch was going to give him a mouthful when they got back.

            “Hey what do you and Beau talk about?”

            “What?”

            “I mean, whenever I hear him talking he’s always talking about sports and maybe I’m wrong, but I never took you as the kind of girl who was obsessed with hockey and wrestling. Have you ever caught ringworm from him?”

            “No I have not! And he doesn’t have ringworm!”

            “But you talk about it?”

            “No! We don’t talk about ringworm! We talk about everything! Anything!”

            “In the short time I’ve spent with him when he’s not stopping me from giving Cato a well-deserved split lip, he just doesn’t really seem like your kind of guy.”

            Her eyes narrowed at him. “You’re wrong. He’s exactly my kind of guy.” It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

            Gale held up his hands. “Alright, alright. Sorry, I guess I don’t know him that well.”

            “No, you don’t know him at all.”

            xx

            This wasn’t exactly the weekend he had imagined. For one, he never imagined Johanna Mason try and hit on a man in tights and period clothing, but he had ceased to be surprised at the completely peculiar things he saw in this town. The moment he got comfortable there was something right around the corner to kick him right out of his comfort zone.

            He didn’t have a completely shitty time at the inn and watching Haymitch roll his eyes in both directions at the waiter’s accents and every course, each more ridiculous than the last.

            But seeing Madge in that silver dress made it worthwhile, riding in the carriage wasn’t half as bad as it could have been too.

            And even now in a baggy baseball tee and leggings, Gale couldn’t keep his eyes away from her. His gaze bounced between the bellboy who was grabbing their bags and then back at her. He looked away when Beau kissed her goodbye and when he glanced back he found her blue eyes looking right back at him.

            He had never been like this over a girl. Girls with boyfriends were too much drama. But judging on the blush covering Madge’s cheeks and the way her eyes were fixed on his, he didn’t think Beau Mellark would be her boyfriend for much longer.  


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madge's grandfather visits Star's Hollow. Madge gets a surprise from Beau.

There was no one on earth quite like Delly Cartwright.

            Before Madge had had enough time to figure out which paper had her schedule on first day at Chilton, the blonde was shoving a welcome basket, filled with muffins and miscellaneous school supplies, each with the Chilton insignia, into her arms, while demanding to know if she was planning on joining the Franklin. At the time she had no idea what or who the Franklin even was. (She later learned it was the school’s newspaper.)

            The two blondes happened to share every single class, except for gym, which Madge thanked any and all higher beings for. She wasn’t sure that she would be able to survive a game of dodge ball with Delly, she could only imagine how good the taller blonde was at volleyball. And she didn’t need a volleyball spiked to the face.

            Delly returned to her locker at the end of the day, with note-filled binders, color-coded by unit. “It won’t feel like winning with you starting out at such a disadvantage, so here are all of my notes. You’re welcome.”

            That was a year ago and now they had managed a friendship. The girl was actually extremely kind when they weren’t inside the walls of Chilton.

            Madge had to hand it to her; Delly knew how to command a room. She was the editor of the Franklin, but even without the title Delly would have been able to rule her fellow students with an iron fist. They had started the year with twenty students on the newspaper staff, five of whom had stopped attending meetings when they caught wind that Delly was the editor this year.

            Delly had called them weak. There was no way they were serious enough about journalism to be an integral member of the Franklin anyway.

            “We’re not competing against other schools! We’re competing against the New York Times!” Madge rolled her eyes as her friend slammed newspapers onto the table. “The Washington Post! This is the work I want to hold ours up against! Do you understand?”

            Everyone nodded, including herself.

            She didn’t need Delly in her face asking if she hadn’t made herself clear. It wasn’t that she was scared of her friend, but she was hungry and was in dire need of a cup of coffee.

            xx

            There was no one home when she arrived.  

            Her grandfather was visiting and her mother didn’t have much of a relationship with either of her parents. Madge had always thought it was due to a lack of communication; they talked, but neither side ever listened to the other.

            There was a lot of pain there, on both sides.

            Her mother had gotten pregnant at sixteen. They had figured it out when her coming out dress was too small after being let out twice. It wasn’t the dress; it was their daughter’s growing body.

            This realization had crushed all of their dreams for their intelligent but rebellious daughter. They dreamed of Ivy League universities and a six-figure career for her. But instead Madeline Donner had run from their home, Madge barely a month old at the time. Though they didn’t move far. Stars Hollow was only a forty-minute drive from Hartford. Her mother’s relationship with her parents went from bad to worse, but things seemed like they were getting better.

            With the addition of Friday night dinners, her mother was mending the bridges she’d burned with her parents while Madge built some of her own. But then there were dinners where her mom’s mending came to a pause due to the reoccurring lack of understanding and bad listening skills. It didn’t help that Friday night dinners with her grandparents had not been her mother’s idea. But upon hearing how much Chilton would cost, her mother had nowhere to go but to her parents, much to her own dismay.             It was a world that she had never been comfortable in. She didn’t want to go to cotillion or go to dinner parties with the high society lot. This was her parent’s world and even as a child, when she was forbidden to get her blue taffeta dress dirty, she knew that this was not the world she wanted to raise her children in. So she ran.

            But somehow her mother found her offspring tiptoeing into the world she’d run from. Madge could feel her mother’s apprehension whenever she did something that involved her grandparents.

            Chilton was a necessary evil. For as long as she could remember, Harvard was the goal. There was an entire section of her mother devoted to the university of their dreams. Stars Hollow high was not going to get her there, but a private school as prestigious as Chilton could give her a fighting chance.

            And then she needed to learn a sport, which brought her to the country club her grandparents were members of. Her grandmother insisted that she learn golf since her grandfather spent most of his Sunday morning at the club. She’d spent the entire day with her grandfather, learning (and failing) to golf, and hearing the sordid details of the other members’ lives. From barely an hour in the sauna, she knew who was sleeping with who, who was cheating on who, and how much money they were getting from the divorce. Her mother had assumed she was going to have a horrible time and when she discovered she had enjoyed herself; there was an undeniable look of disappointment in her eyes.

            Then came her coming out. She had only gone to her grandparent’s house to pick up a copy _of A Mencken Chrestomathy_ and being the polite granddaughter she was, she made sure to say hello to her grandmother before she left. She’d just assumed she was having her afternoon tea outside by herself, but was surprised to find a table of ladies chatting outside with her. She gave them each a polite smile, but had gotten sucked into the discussion of her having a coming out party. Before she knew it she was trying on her mother’s dress (which fit near perfectly). It wasn’t exactly something she wanted to do, but she could see the glimmer in her grandmother’s eye when she described it to her. It didn’t mean much to her, but it meant so much to the matriarch Donner and that was why she had agreed. Her mother took it in stride, knowing that her parents weren’t seeing Madge doing that ridiculous fan dance, but remembering how disappointed they had been sixteen years ago when they had been unable to see their own daughter do the same ridiculous dance in the same ridiculous dress.

            It was not the best night for the Donners.

            Madge constantly found herself straddling the line between the world her mother had built for her and the one her mother had grown up in. Where her mother found difficulty in establishing a relationship with her parents, Madge found ease. It wasn’t hard to discuss literature or the contents of the Wall Street Journal with her grandfather or to ask about the many luncheons and banquets her grandmother was planning. It came far easier to her than it ever did for her mother.

            xx

            “Madge! Where are you? Madge! Come out here!” Her mother sounded like she was panicking.

            “Hey,” Madge peeked out of her room, adjusting her headband back on her head before hugging her grandfather. “Hey grandpa. How was your day? Did you see Mom in action?”

            He gave her a soft smile. “It was great and yes I did. That’s quite an inn she runs.”

            “It really is! You should see it when there’s a wedding! It’s beautiful!”

            “You okay with Chinese for dinner?”

            Madge nodded, “Chinese Palace?”

            “That’s what I was thinking. I’ll make the list?”

            “List?” Her grandfather asked his graying eyebrows furrowed.

            “Madge, why don’t you show your grandfather your room?”

            “Do you want to see my room?” She knew it wasn’t much. It was nowhere near as luxurious or heavily designed as the room she had at her grandparent’s house, but it was hers.

            “These are my books!”

            She immediately noticed when her grandfather took a small leather-bound notebook from his pocket, jotting down something as he looked through a small section of her book collection. “What are you doing?”

            “You’ve got some holes in your book collection that I plan to fill.”

            “Grandpa, this is not my entire collection!” She stepped back toward her bed, pulling up the edge of her comforter. Underneath her bed was another section; several small stacks of books were hiding underneath. Back beside her grandfather, she pulled open the top and then bottom drawer of her dresser, both of which were filled with books.

            “Then maybe I should think about acquiring a proper bookcase for your collection.”

            “Oh no, I like it this way.”

            “A sort of organized chaos?”

            She nodded, a grin on her lips. “Definitely.”

            “Is that the Harvard wall I’ve heard about?”

            “Oh yeah! When Mom and me visited they were having a two for one sale on the pennants! Isn’t it great?”

            Her granfather gave her a smile, but she knew it wasn’t genuine. He was a Yale man and it must have felt odd to see his granddaughter sporting crimson on her walls.

            “Madge!” Her mother popped her head into her bedroom, one arm extended, notepad in hand. “How does it look?”

            The younger blonde grabbed the notepad, glancing over the list. “I was thinking about the—“

            “The cashew chicken. You read my mind, consider it on the list.” She reached for the notepad. “I’ll call. Do you know where the phone is?”

            “Last time I saw it, it was in the living room.” Madge went to the fridge to get a soda before heading back into her bedroom to study while her mother searched for the phone. It was probably between the couch cushions, but her mother could figure that much out.

            The walls in their house weren’t paper thin, but they weren’t soundproof either. They were arguing. Madge heard the word gluttony and knew where the conversation went from there. Her grandfather had the best intentions in his critique of their life but to her mother it was the harshest of criticism on the way she had chosen to live her life. Her grandparents had a chef make them dinner every night, from frog legs to lamb to whatever her grandmother wanted that particular day. Neither Madge nor her mother cooked, but they could order food quicker than the best of them and were masters at the art of eating leftovers. It was something her grandparents could not comprehend. There was an art to the way the Donner girls lived.

            Someone honked in their driveway. “Madge! Were you expecting someone?”

            Madge drew her gaze away from her Pre-Calculus textbook, grabbing her jacket before opening the front door. It was Beau, as she had predicted, and he was grinning, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he leaned on a baby blue car, shined to perfection.

            It was barely recognizable to the dirty, frame she’d sat in three months ago on their six-month anniversary. The driver’s side door had fallen off when he had attempted to open it. ‘It’s yours.’ He’d said, his eyes shining down at her. ‘So you don’t have to take the bus all the way to school.’ After, he’d told her he loved her for the first time. It wasn’t exactly the ending she had expected on their six-month anniversary. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but hearing those words come from his mouth. Madge had been unable to respond with anything other than ‘thank you.’ That was not the response he had been expecting. They fought and broke up. It didn’t take though and they were back together in a couple of weeks, all the stronger for it.

            “You’re kidding me!” She drew her hands over her mouth, hiding her matching grin. “Is that it?”

            “That all depends. How much do you love me?”

            “A lot! Does it drive? Can I drive it?”

            “She asks me, ‘Does it drive?’ Well I drove it all the way here.”

            She ran toward her boyfriend, jumping into his arms. “Oh my God! Thank you!” She kissed him. “Thank you!”

            “Mom! Look what Beau made me!”

            “Made her?” Her grandfather muttered.

            “Isn’t that amazing, Dad? It’s amazing, Beau.”

            Her grandfather was shaking his head. “It’s a very nice gesture, but she cannot accept this.”

            “What do you mean? Of course she can.”

            It wasn’t the first time her grandfather and Beau had met. In fact, the first time had not gone over well. The Donner patriarch did not think that Beau Mellark was a suitable boyfriend for his only granddaughter. When he had grilled the young man, he didn’t even know what he was going to do with his life after high school. Madge did not enjoy seeing her boyfriend attacked. It was the first fight she had ever had with her grandfather.

            “A child is not supposed to build an automobile. That is certainly not safe enough for my granddaughter to drive. I won’t allow it.”

            “But—“ Beau started.

            “Did you have the assistance of a certified mechanic when you built this?”            “With all due respect Sir, my grandfather worked on cars all his life, my father worked on cars his entire life and so have I.”

            “So that’s a no.”

            “Did you run the car by a certified mechanic once it was built?”

            Beau huffed, clenching his teeth.

            “I’m going to assume that is also a no.”

            “Alright, let’s go to Cressida’s. I’m sure she’ll be glad to take your money for nothing. Should I drive or do you want to?”

            Her grandfather shook his head. “I’ll take the jag. Make sure to stay behind. I don’t want any pieces of it to his the jag if it explodes.”

            Beau scoffed, no longer feeling the need to be so polite to her grandfather. “Make sure you electrical system can keep it together long enough to get there.”

            “Young man,” her grandfather started, narrowing his eyes at her boyfriend. “The kinks in this car’s electrical system have long since been worked out.”

            “Yeah, I’m sure.” Beau looked to Madge and her mother. “We’ll be back soon.”

            Both cars drove off, kicking up dust as they left.

            Her mother draped her arm across her shoulders, pulling her into a hug. “I feel like one of us should have been between them waving a red flag. No?”

            “It’s a nice car though, isn’t it?”

            “Very cool.”

            xx

            When her grandfather and Beau hadn’t been back after a half hour, she’d been sent to retrieve the Chinese.

            Bags in hand, she got distracted by the bookstore’s display. Mindy Kaling’s new book was out and Madge considered coming in early to buy it. Hopefully her car would be okayed by Cressida, and then it could become her lunch book and not her bus book.

            “I hope all of that’s not just for you.”

            Madge glanced toward the owner’s of the voice’s direction, though it wasn’t necessary. She knew it was Gale. No one else had the same deep, gravely voice that he did. “Why? You want an egg roll.”

            Gale smirked, chuckling. “I love books more than the next person but they’re not much to look at.”

            “I was just trying to decide if I wanted to buy another book or read what I already have.”

            “What’s it between?”

            “Kaling and Faulkner.”

            Gale laughed, his grey eyes lighting up as he smiled at her. “Oh, you’re serious.”

            “I am!”

            “Well, if you want to laugh then probably Mindy. I don’t think Faulkner’s much of a comedian, but then again he’s a member of Oprah’s book club. So he’s got that on Mindy.”

            She chuckled at his arguments for both authors.

            “Faulkner’s been around for awhile. I think he can wait another week.”

            “Sound reasoning.” He looked like he was about to say something else to her when his phone rang. He lifted his eyebrows, reaching into the pocket of his jacket. “I gotta take this. And you should probably get home with that.”

            “Hey,” he grinned into his cell phone. “Wait, hold on a second,” he turned toward Madge. “You owe me an egg roll!”

            Madge smiled back, waving goodbye while shaking her head.

            “Hey Pose. Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

            The thought of Gale having late night phone calls with his little sister was incredibly endearing. It completely shattered the bad boy image he’d created around town.

           

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is the basket auction! (to anyone who has watched gilmore girls). it will be a lot of fun!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rivalry between Beau and Gale continues.  
> Madge and Gale spend an afternoon together.

The posters for the Bid-On-A-Basket Fundraiser were plastered on any and every stationary object in town. Something seemed to be going on every other week in this Godforsaken town, each as equally ridiculous as the last, but somehow they always seemed to catch his interest. This place was a far cry from the city.

            Gale tried to think of his mother living in this small town, participating in any of these functions . Hazelle Abernathy-Hawthorne was a hell of a lot more social than her older brother, but still he couldn’t picture her cooking and baking food to put in a basket for some guy to bid on. It didn’t seem like his mother at all. But last night, during his nightly phone conversation with his mother he’d mentioned the event and discovered how wrong he was.

            “You have to go!” She exclaimed; on the other line a pan clanged in the sink. Every night she called while she did the dishes before heading to bed. The sound of the running water along with his mother’s voice helped to put him in the mood for sleep.

            “Yeah, alright.” He replied sarcastically. The truth was that he had considered it for a brief moment when Haymitch had revealed what it was mid-rant. “Shouldn’t you be up in arms about this?”

            His mother chuckled, the water stopped. “I don’t think I ever told you this, but I met your father at the Bid A Basket Fundraiser. Is it still to raise money for that damn bridge?”

            Eli Hawthorne was not a native of Stars Hollow. He was born and raised in New York City, but had an obsession for small towns. He left the city the day after graduation to travel and lived all over for a handful of years. ‘While I’m young,’ he’d told his parents; with nothing but a paperback in his back- pocket and the money his family had given him for graduating. At twenty-four he yearned for his hometown. On the way back he decided to stop in Connecticut to rest, one last small adventure in a small town before he returned back home.

            “I had a boyfriend at the time. We weren’t too serious, but serious enough that his head right about exploded when this guy who no one had ever seen outbid him.” He could see her right now, leaning on the counter, the same far off look in her eye she got whenever she spoke about his father. “He was wearing that leather jacket you like so much, that stupid smirk on his pretty mouth. The smile on his face only got wider the redder Evan got.”

            “How was it? You didn’t even know the guy.”

            “Well your father was always very charming. It was a very nice first date despite the fact that I was dating someone else at the time. He didn’t seem to mind. I think he found it quite amusing. He found just about everything amusing in Stars Hollow.”

            “What did you guys even talk about? You didn’t even know him. That must have been so awkward.”

            “Well, not really. He was handsome and not from Stars Hollow so I was already enthralled by him. Not to mention your dad was pretty charming. He could make friends with a brick wall if he tried hard enough. We talked about everything, music, movies, books, his travels, everything. Your father was always a great conversationalist.”

            “I always wondered where I got it from,” he replied with sarcasm.

            She cackled. “Oh that’s from my side of the family. You’ve met Haymitch and if you had known my father you would know that those two were cut from the same cloth with the same scissors. You and Rory get the grunting as a form of language from my side. Vick and Posy can’t shut up because of your father.”

            He sighed at the mention of his siblings. It wasn’t the same just talking to them over the phone. He missed rushing them to school in the morning, even if Rory was grumpy in the morning, Vick always forgot at least one thing when they were already down the block, and Posy insisted on wearing the blue ribbons in her hair not the pink ones, which were conveniently lost. “Is she doing better? How are they?”

            “She’s become very attached to that hoodie and she wanted to talk to you, but she fell right to sleep. The boys are good. Rory won’t admit that he misses you, but I know he does. I caught him reading one of your books the other day.”

            “Oh yeah? What was he reading?”              

            “I’m pretty sure it was _Dubliners._ I don’t think he’s planning on finishing it, but he started it. It’s something.”

            “For him? Just picking up the book was something. He doing better in school?”

            “He’s doing his homework and helping the kids with theirs.”

            Gale sighed in relief. “That’s good.”

            She laughed, adding. “Poor Rory though, he just does not know how to do Posy’s hair the way she likes it. It just about drives him up the wall. ‘Gale doesn’t do it like that’ or ‘Gale braids it different. You’re doing it wrong.’ He’s ready to kill you for setting the bar too high.”

             He laughed. Trouble with Posy’s hair was an expected difficulty, but at least that was it.

            xx

            Like his father, Gale didn’t care that Madge had a boyfriend. Sure, watching them make out right in the third aisle of Coin’s Market irked him, but mostly because they were blocking the superglue.

            Madge noticed him first, pulling away from her boyfriend, her blue eyes on the ground, her cheeks a violent red.

            “What? Is it Alma?” Beau shakily ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. “Oh,” he stopped, the nervous smile falling from his lips immediately replaced with one of disdain. “It’s you.”

            “In the flesh,” he countered.

            “What do you want?”

            Gale ticked his jaw; this guy was grating. “You guys are blocking the superglue.”

            “Sorry,” Madge muttered, stepping away, sending an uncomfortable smile his way before turning to look at the baskets, or at least pretending to.

            He grabbed the superglue Haymitch had requested. “As you were.”

            “I really hate that guy,” Beau snarled to Madge. Gale scoffed, the feeling was mutual. Once he’d approached the checkout line, he was too far to hear Madge’s response.

            Alma gave him a look of reproach, her cold eyes narrowed at him. Gale was no stranger to being disliked. At least she had a reason; he had stolen money from that stupid bridge fund tin can. He figured she could make up for funds easily. Hell, the bridge looked fine to him. There were more pressing matters than a bridge that needing a new paint job.

            “It’s a two for one sale.”

            “Oh,” Gale grabbed the packet of superglue. “I’ll be back then.”

            Madge was still in the aisle, right where she had been when he had left, except this time she was staring at her boyfriend’s back.

            She jumped, not expecting him to be right beside her. “God! Make a noise.”

            He smirked, reaching forward to grab another packet of superglue. “Two for one sale.”

            She sighed, rolling her eyes. He was able to make out a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth before she turned around to look at the baskets.

            xx

            It should not have been that funny to him, but seeing that vein in Beau’s forehead get ready to practically burst was hilarious. Obviously, he’d thought that he’d be paying the five-dollar starting bid Alma had announced. The look of utter shock on his face was completely worth it. Usually, Gale would never under any circumstance spend ninety-dollars so impulsively. That money would have gone to his mother to pay one of the bills, but after he’d stolen the money for the bridge, she had forbade him from sending any money back home. He figured annoying Beau and the added bonus of spending an afternoon with Madge was worth the ninety dollars since he couldn’t send any of it to his family.

            Beau marched away in a tizzy, his hands in fists at his sides and his mouth pursed in what he could only assume was fury. Basket in hand, Gale watched Madge attempt to placate him. It didn’t seem to be working and Gale was losing his patience.

            “Y’know, out of all the crazy shindigs this place seems to cook up, this one was not half bad I gotta say. I’ve got no complaints.”

            “I’ve got a few.”

            Gale ignored him, leaning toward Madge. “So shall we?”

            It wasn’t the first time he’d said that to her and if he had his way it wouldn’t be the last.

            “Shall we what?” Beau answered for her, his barely visible blonde eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

            “Shall we eat,” he answered simply. It was obvious wasn’t it?

            “What?”

            Apparently not. Gale rolled his eyes. “I’m not sure if you didn’t understand the concept of this entire event, but I can explain it to you. The person who buys the basket gets the company of the person who made the basket for lunch.” He shook the basket in front of his face. “Basket,” He gestured toward Madge, “Basket maker,” and last he pointed to Beau, “Guy who didn’t bring enough money.”

            “You think this is funny?”

            The smirk on his lips was answer enough. This shit was hilarious.

            “Bye Gale.” The guy was bigger than him, he’d give him that much. He had broader shoulders and probably weighed more than him despite being shorter, but winning wrestling champions (against your younger brother mind you) was not the same as fighting in real life. Gale was raised on the streets. There weren’t many people who could intimidate him.

            “Are you leaving?”

            “No you are.”

            “You’re right.” He glanced toward Madge. “Madge and I should be leaving.”

            “She’s not going with you!”

            “Really? Is that true?” Gale looked at Madge expecting an answer, but Beau interrupted yet again, leaving her with her mouth open.

            “No, she’s not.”

            Gale glanced at Madge before turning back to Beau. “You know, I was asking Madge, didn’t know she magically lost the ability to speak in the past few hours since I last saw her.”

            “She doesn’t have to talk to you because she’s not going!”

            Madge looked trapped, her blue eyes bouncing between both of them as they argued, their responses too fast to give her enough time to interrupt. “Beau—“

            “You cannot be serious right now.”

            “It’s just a picnic. We’ll eat. Then it’ll be over.” She sighed, tugging on her jean jacket. “Don’t make this a big deal.”

            Gale watched Beau’s hand on her arm, his eyes pleading. “Don’t go.”

            “What do you think is going to happen?”

            He couldn’t help but to add, “Yeah, I would like to hear this myself.”

            “You really do not want to be talking right now!” He turned to his girlfriend. “Madge—It’s not school! You’re not being graded on this!”

            “It’s tradition,” she pulled on the ends of her hair. “My mom and I have been doing this since we moved to town.”

            “Who cares about tradition?”

            “I do.”

            “Fine, whatever.” And then he was stomping off as dramatically as ever.           

            Gale rolled his eyes, watching Madge follow after him. He cursed himself for forgetting his book at the apartment. Hopefully this wouldn’t take long.

            xx

            He found Madge staring off toward an empty street, a pensive look on her face.

            “There’s no one there, you know?”

            “I know.”

            “You going to go after him?” He wouldn’t exactly blame her if she did, but it would be a waste of ninety dollars.

            She shook her head. “No, not right now.”

            “You ready?” He shook the small basket at his side.

            “Yeah.”

            “You got a specific place in mind?” It was polite to ask even though he already had a spot in mind.

            “I don’t care.”

            “Alright,” they walked in silence toward the bridge. Hopefully, their entire time together wouldn’t be so quiet.

            She paused before stepping onto the bridge. “Don’t even think of pushing me in.”

            “We’re eating here.” He chuckled. “And I wasn’t planning on growing gills in the near future so staying on land is fine by me.” He sat down, his legs dangling over the edge.

            “We’re going to eat here?”

            Gale nodded, glancing up at her, her jeans were cuffed on the bottom. “That’s what I was planning, unless you have a problem with it then we can go somewhere else.” She sat down, a bit behind him so her legs were outstretched, her feet meeting the edge of the bridge. “You cuff them like that ‘cause you’re so short?”

            She nodded, “What the Donner women lack in height we make up for in an abundance of personality and wit.” She lazily reached for her toes, a soft moan falling from her lips. That was not a noise he needed to hear when she was so close to him, the smell of her perfume wafting up his nose. Here there was nowhere to hide. “Even the short ones are too long,” she added absently. “Not all of us can be Neanderthals like you.” Madge ran a hand through her hair, gathering it all to one side. “So why’d you do it?”

            A little blunt if you asked him. “Do what?” Gale had a tendency to play dumb.

            “Why’d you outbid Beau like that?”

            It didn’t get him far. He shrugged. “At first, I kind of just wanted to annoy him. But then he was standing there all mad and I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed but he gets this vein in his forehead. He’s a riot.”

            “It wasn’t funny.”

            “Well, I didn’t intend to do it, if that makes you feel any better.”

            She scooted closer to the edge of the bridge so they were next to each other, the basket between them. Her legs barely dangled over.

            “Does it make you feel any better?”

            “I just don’t want to be in a fight with Beau.”

            He gestured toward the left side of the bridge opposite to where they had come from. “Do you want to push me off?” Upon hearing he may have stolen money for the bridge from an enraged Alma, he waited for his nephew to get out of school. Maybe Gale could have handled the situation a bit better instead of yelling at his uncle, but it was his first week here and he did not want to be here, not in the slightest. He was frustrated and angry, his natural state most would say. Irritated and unused to dealing with teenagers, Haymitch pushed him off the edge of the bridge and didn’t even wait to see if he came up.

            “Maybe later.”

            “So let’s crack this thing open.” He opened the basket, peering inside. “Wow, absolutely nothing in here looks even remotely edible.”

            Madge looked at him innocently. “Well it wasn’t for you. It was for Beau.”

            He grabbed a green Tupperware, tilting it toward her. “And Beau would have eaten this?”

            She nodded. “Yes, he would have.”

            There was no way Gale would let Beau Mellark outdo him, no way no how. Stretching his arms in preparation, he took a heaping portion into his mouth. Immediately, he fought spitting it back into the container. “Beau is an idiot.”

            Madge giggled behind her hands. “Beau would never have fallen for that!”

            Gale groaned, repacking the Tupperware. He stuck his tongue out. Maybe airing it out would help. “I wish I had something to wash that awful taste from my mouth. Way to not pack any liquids. On second thought, that’s probably a good thing, probably would be past due with all kinds of bacteria.”

            She ticked her head at a forty-five degree angle, “I don’t even remember how long that’s been in our fridge to be honest.”

            “Evil woman.”

            “Let that be a lesson! Don’t mess with a Donner!”

            xx

            It was easy getting lost in conversation with Madge Donner.

            “He’s a complete jerk!”

            “Madge, you’re not supposed to take his personality into account! He’s a writer! I’m sure 99% of them are complete assholes! The work speaks for itself.”

            “I can’t get past the part of him being a complete dick! Oprah should have ended him right then and there. I’m sure she has a hit-man on the payroll.” She scoffed. “Thinks he’s too good for Oprah’s good club!”

            Gale chuckled. “But you read _Freedom_ , right?”

            “The chapters are stupidly long.”

            “And you got past that and fell in love with it, didn’t you? Patty, Madge. Patty!”

            She crossed her arms over her chest. “No comment.”

            “You’re impossible. On another note, my little brother was reading _Dubliners_ last week, or at least attempting to.”

            “Please tell me you read Joyce’s letters to Nora Barnacle!” She leaned toward him. They’d moved, now sitting across from each other, the basket still between them.

            He stared blankly at her. “Well it’s not like he was planning on having them published! They were for her eyes only!”

            “I read them when I was twelve. I was horrified!”

            Gale cackled, his head falling back. “I think you’d be just as horrified reading them now. I don’t think you could say those kinds of words even if you wanted to, at least not in that order.”

            “I would never want to!”

            The letters were downright filthy. Madge had a point there, but Gale would give most if not all of the books in his possession to hear her recite just one of those letters. What would she sound like her lips wrapping around his words. He’d have to be a bit choosy with which ones though. Again, those letters were fucking filthy.

            “Joyce aside, you promised,” he pointed toward her.

            “I will give the painful Ernest Hemingway another shot.”

            He tipped his head toward her. “You know, Ernest only has lovely things to say about you.”

            She paused, pursing her lips as if choosing her words wisely. “Why are you only nice to me?”

            “Excuse me?”

            “You were downright rotten to Beau not even an hour ago, but now you’re here being so nice to me.”

            Gale sighed. “It’s the being mean to Beau that gets me here so I can be nice to you.”

            “So it was a plan?”

            Gale had no comment. “You hungry? Do you want pizza?”

            “You’re trying to avoid answering my question.”

            “I’m not above evasion. I’ll pay. Do you like green peppers? If not, we can get it on just half.”

            “Fine.” She stood up, wiping the dirt from her jeans. “Let’s go.”

            Gale followed, basket in hand.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gale and Madge go get pizza and peruse the local book store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This should have been at the end of the last chapter, but i completely forgot.  
> so it's more chapter 5.5 than chapter 6

It felt heavy in the pocket of his jacket, the simple leather-braided bracelet with a small medallion attached. The thing probably weighed a few ounces, but felt like several pounds in his pocket.

            The bracelet must have loosened and fallen from her wrist. The medallion shining in the sunlight had caught his attention. It was just lying on the bridge, right where Madge had been sitting only a second ago. He had considered calling out to her, but had decided against it. It was a gift from Beau, that much he knew. Whenever they were together, Beau’s thumb constantly brushed over it, smiling up at her.

            He pushed his guilt to its usual spot in the far recesses of his mind. If he gave it back now, then she’d have questions that he knew he couldn’t answer.

            “You’re wrong!” She lifted her legs, adjusting so she could sit cross-legged in her seat. “ _Your Favorite Weapon_ is not just another stupid emo album. I mean yes it totally sounds like fits in right beside all the others, but it’s more than that. ‘You’re as subtle as a brick in the small of my back.’ That’s a great line. Admit it, if your precious Hemingway wrote that you’d be all over it!”

            He chuckled, taking a bite of his slice of pizza. While chewing, he considered her argument. “That song is alright. I’ll give you that, but they’re not even good until _The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me._ ”           

            Her blue eyes widened comically, her root beer caught midair in shock. “You take that back right now! Even if I have to quote all of _Deja Entendu_ to you so you can get it through that thick skull of yours.”

            He smirked. “Hey!” He raised his arms, the tips of his fingers shiny with grease. “I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t like any of their early stuff.”

            “I don’t think we can talk anymore if you don’t come over to the light side! That’s it! I’m making you a mix!”

            “Of what? I’ve listened to them before.”

            “I’m not convinced that you have. If you had then you would at least be as in love with that album as I am.”

            Gale laughed. Mixes were pretty serious business in his eyes, but then again Madge was a nice girl. She probably made plenty of mixes without any heavy meaning other than ‘here are a bunch of songs that I think you’ll like.’

            Her blue eyes focused in on his. “It’s one of the few albums I can listen to right through no problem.” She chewed thoughtfully while simultaneously narrowing her eyes at him. “Give it another chance. I’ll give you the first record, that I can understand you not caring for, but _Deja Entendu_ is classic.”

            Gale relented, taking a sip of his drink. “Fine. I give up. I’ll let you make me that mix or whatever.” Her blue eyes lit up, she reached into her bag, grabbing a note pad. “I didn’t mean right now! I paid ninety dollars for this meal!”

            She flushed prettily at his words, “I just have to write this down before I forget.”

            He leaned forward, squinting to read her neat cursive script. There were only a few words that he could make out like, ’Cleanser’ and ‘Untitled 02’ Probably song titles.

            Madge shut the small notepad, bringing the pen behind her ear. “So how’s your little sister? Is she still sleeping with your Ramones hoodie?”

            The question struck him as odd, not because it was particularly peculiar, but the only questions the girls Gale usually ran with asked was whether or not he had a condom or smoke on him. Sometimes they changed it up, asking if he knew someone who could score them some weed.

            He blinked away his thoughts. “She’s better, still sleeping with the hoodie. She just misses me is all.”

            “And your other,” she paused, remembering their past conversation, “two brothers?”

            “Good memory, Donner. They’re good. I think Rory, he’s the oldest after me, hates me just a bit, but I think he’s coming around. My ma said he was reading one of my bookslast week. He’s not much of a reader so that’s pretty big.”

             “I can imagine.”

            The pizza and fries they’d ordered had practically disappeared between the both of them (mostly Madge). That little woman should be a competitive eater as far as he was concerned. She’d put the entire sport to shame. The lunch portion of their time together had obviously come to an end now that there wasn’t any food left between them, but Gale didn’t want their time together to come to an end.

            “Do you want to go to Andrew’s?”

            He glanced up. Great minds think alike, huh? “The bookstore?”

            “Yeah or do you have something else to do?”

            “No, I’ve been meaning to go to the bookstore. My mom hasn’t sent the rest of my stuff yet so I’ve run out of books. Haymitch isn’t much of a reader. Though there are a few books up there on camping and fishing. Maybe a few biographies.”

            Madge stood, wiping pizza crust crumbs from her lap. “So your genre of choice, right?”

            He laughed, tugging his jacket back into place. “You wouldn’t know it by looking at me, but I’m actually very outdoorsy. Ready?”

            Madge nodded, standing up and grabbing her bag. “Now that you say it. I can kind of imagine it.” The wind blew her hair in front of her face; Madge huffed before twisting her hair into a bun at the top of her head.

            He chuckled. There was something about girls doing their hair that had always interested him. His eyes were drawn to women throwing their hair into ponytails. It always seemed so effortless; unlike the struggle he underwent each time he wanted to replicate any style his sister had seen on television.

            “Have you ever gone with Haymitch? I know he’s quite the outdoorsman.”

            “Definitely, when my dad was alive, Haymitch went with us a few times. My dad and him got along really well.”

            “When did your dad…?” She paused, as if thinking what words would be the most polite and least offensive.

            “Die? When I was fourteen. Car accident.”

            “Oh. I’m sorry.            “ She placed her hand on his bicep.

            Gale shook his head. “Nothing for you to be sorry about.” He clicked his tongue, wondering if coming out and asking ‘While we’re on the topic of fathers, where’s yours?’ was rude. Ultimately, he decided it was. The walk to the bookstore was far faster than he had expected. Everything was in walking distance, a constant reminder that he was far from being in a big city.

            “So I think you should read this one.” He placed a copy of _The Old Man and the Sea_ into her hands. “It’s less than one-hundred fifty pages and since I’m buying it for you, you’ll feel guilty and have to read it.”

            She tipped her head to the side. “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

            Gale nodded. “Hey! I agreed to listen to _Deja_ now you’ve got to make good on your side of the deal. It’s this or the short stories.” He brought out the book that was hiding behind his back. “Or maybe both?”

            Madge grabbed the book of short stories, their fingertips brushing against each other in the process. Her eyes flitted up to meet his. “Let’s see how the novel goes first, then maybe I’ll think about the short stories. Deal?”

            “Fine, let me go re-shelve this. Give me that.” She glanced down at his outstretched hand.

            “What?”

            “The book. I’m not entirely sure you won’t hide it so you can get out of reading it.”

            “How did you know?”

            “I had a feeling.”

            xx

            It wasn’t as horrible as he had remembered. He could see what she liked about the album. Maybe he wasn’t as taken with it as she obviously was, but the album had some great songs; that much he could admit.

            He could faintly hear the phone ringing and ripped his headphones from his ears before answering it. “Hello?”

            “Hey.” To say he was surprised to hear her voice on the other end of the phone would be an understatement.

            “Hey, why’d you call?”

            She stuttered out an answer “I-I wanted to-to”.

            He took pity and interrupted, “I’m glad you called.”

            “Yeah?”

            “Maybe you can explain what exactly you are so obsessed about.”

            “Ah _Deja Entendu_.”

            “Yes. I’ve been listening to this thing for the past few hours and it’s all your fault. And you will pay.”

            “I promise just give it one more listen, but no skips. And if you still can’t understand why I like it so much then I’ll make it up to you.”           

            He grinned. He could think of several different ways that she could make it up to him.

            “I’m gonna hold you to that.”

            “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

           

           

           

           


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madge meets her father's new girlfriend.

Madge knew she had a problem when Katniss caught her staring.

            “Are you okay?”

            The blonde looked away from Gale, who was leaning on the counter, hardcover book in hand, eyebrows knit together in concentration. The sleeve had been removed and Madge was squinting, attempting to read the title of the book from across the diner. “Huh?”

            “Do you have something to tell me?” Katniss asked.

            “What would I have to tell you?”

            “I heard Johanna telling Annie that Gale and Beau had a bidding war over your basket.” She paused. “And now you’re looking at him. I just thought I should ask.”

            “I’m not looking at him like that. I just want to see what book he’s reading.” Madge’s face twisted as she recalled the fundraiser, taking another drink from her coffee cup. “But you should’ve seen Beau.”

            “I’m sure he was really upset.”

            “Upset is putting it nicely. He was absolutely livid. It doesn’t help that he hates Gale. I’ve never seen him so worked up.”

            “So Gale just decided to bid on your basket for no reason?”

            “Well, it’s not as if I told him to do it! I think steam was just about to start pouring out of Beau’s ears when he heard Gale start bidding on my basket.”

            “He sure was a sight for sore eyes!” Madge groaned, closing her eyes. Maybe he’d disappear if she willed him to.

            “I’m sure he was,” Katniss replied, a smirk in her voice.

            “You know that vein in his forehead? It was throbbing.”

            “Don’t you have a job you should be doing?” Madge asked, her eyes blinking open to meet his. He was staring down at her, the ever-present smirk on his lips.

            He held up a pot of coffee. “I anticipated you needing a refill.”

            She said nothing, pushing her empty cup in his direction. She didn’t like when he was right.

            “Alright, carry on with your conversation about me. Make sure to tell her how much you love Ernest Hemingway because of me.”

            “ _The Old Man and the Sea_ put me to sleep last night.”

            Gale grinned, his grey eyes glimmering with mischief. “I’m going to let that one slide. It’s almost too easy.”

            Katniss laughed at the frown on her best friend’s mouth. “He’s pretty funny, to be honest.”           

            Madge narrowed her eyes at his back. “On a happier note, my dad’s coming to see my debate today.”

            “I wish I could go. I’d love to see Delly rip those other kids heads off.”

            “If Delly had her way, the kids from the opposing school would leave the stage in body bags.”

            “She’s intense.”

            “You can say that again. I’ve been practicing on getting my WPM up.”

            “WPM?”

            “Words per minute. She claims I speak too slowly.”

            “You?”

            “That’s what I said. Not to mention, I’m an expert on doctor-assisted suicide now.”

            “Great for party conversation.”

            “I’ll be a hit, the belle of the ball.”

            Katniss laughed as she tore off a piece of her muffin.

            “How was the picnic with Peeta?”

            The brunette flushed under her friend’s gaze.

            “What?”

            “Nothing. We just talked. It was alright.”

            “Katniss Everdeen, are you hiding something from me?

            “No! We talked, ate and then he walked me home.”

            “Do you still think he’s a creep with a staring problem?”

            “I stand by my previous statement.”

            “It’s not his fault he can’t help but stare because you’re so pretty. The boy’s only human.”           

            “Well, look at the time. I should be getting to school.”

            “You’ve got a full hour before the bell rings.”

            “Well I forgot to do my trig homework.”

            “Fine. I should be heading out anyway.”

            “See you!”

            Madge chuckled under her breath. Peeta had definitely found his way under Katniss’s skin. It took him long enough.

            xx

            The debate went as Madge had expected. Delly had intimidated the competition before it even started. She was pretty sure the male on the other team was shaking when they shook hands before the debate. His partner looked just as shaken by Delly, but much better at holding herself together.

            Madge had been too focused on the debate to look into the audience in search of her parents. Not to mention Delly would have had her head if she were a beat too slow in her delivery.

            The other team was stuttering out their rebuttals. The Chilton win was inevitable. Madge was happy to see it end; the opposing side’s shaking made her feel guilty.

            When she looked out into the audience she noticed her mother and Cinna were standing toward the front of the room, proud grins lighting up their faces.

            “You were great up there!” Her mother’s arms enveloped her, her lips on her forehead. “Great job, Kid!”

            “You were very eloquent and poised under pressure, Madge.” Madge gave her thanks, hugging Cinna. He had been in her life for as long as she could remember. As one of her mother’s best friends, she’d been to every piano recital, her short-lived days in ballet and everything in between. It was a comforting sight seeing his face in the crowd right beside her mother’s.

            “Your father brought a date,” her mother leaned forward to whisper in case he was within ear’s reach.

            Madge furrowed her eyebrows. “To my debate?” It wasn’t exactly the type of place where bringing a date was necessary.

            Her mother shrugged. Madge knew better than to ask if she was bothered by it. The answer to the question was obvious. Whether or not she wanted to admit it, her mother had always held a torch for her father. Madeline Donner and Noah Undersee had a long history with each other. And Madge was inclined to believe that they were still in love with each other, though timing was never in their favor. Friends since they were young, they’d gone to the same summer camps, and the same fancy prep schools and possibly if Madge hadn’t come into the picture, the same Ivy League university. They hadn’t dated since before she was born, but Madge had always held out hope, like most children whose parents were no longer together, that they’d find their way to each other in the end.

            “Are we supposed to invite them out to eat or something?”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Well they didn’t come all the way to Harford from Boston just to see my debate without expecting at least dinner.”

            “Well Miss Manners would disapprove if we didn’t at least offer. Go get your stuff and meet us out in the hall.”                                                                                                                                                                                      

            Madge glanced back as she headed backstage. Her mother was leaning toward Cinna, their heads bent toward each other. They were probably talking about her father and his new girlfriend. Her father had had a lot of girlfriends over the years, some of which he had thought were “the one.” They’d met her over Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner at her grandparent’s house. Madge didn’t understand why her mother was so bent out of shape about meeting his new girlfriend. She wasn’t the first girlfriend they’d met and she probably wouldn’t be the last. She’d probably be gone by Thanksgiving anyway, if history had anything to do with it.

            She was wearing a grey shift dress with knee-length high-heeled boots. Her hair styled like the ladies in the shampoo commercials that perfect dark shade of red without being too brassy. She probably spent a hundred dollars just to get her hair blown out like that.

            She had a big grin on her face, stepping away from her father’s side to grab her hand. “You must be Madge. Your father has told me so much about you. You know, you look so much like him.” Madge glanced at her mother out of the corner of her eye, other than the shape of her eyebrows, which were squared off and quite thick like her father’s; she was the spitting image of her mother. Everyone had always told her so, though they didn’t have to; she could see it with her own eyes. “The books! He told me all about the books! I cannot wait to see the books!”

            Madge glanced behind the woman in front of her who had yet to introduce herself toward her father. He stepped forward with his arms wide open. “You did great, Kiddo! She gets talking that fast from you, but in this context it was a good thing.”

            “I have yet to have an experience when the fast-talking wasn’t a good thing.” Her mother added.

            Her father gave her mother a playful look, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, this is Octavia.”

            It was just like her mother to step forward and attempt to take control of the situation. “I’m Madeline. It’s nice to meet you.”

               “And you must be the famous Cinna I’ve heard so much about. I’ve heard tales of your legendary risotto.” Her father added, a boyish grin on his lips. She had almost forgotten that her father had never met Cinna or anyone who lived in Star’s Hollow.

            Cinna laughed, a blush rising to his tawny skin. He was humble, but everyone liked to be complimented. “You’ll have to come by the inn one day so I can make it for you.” He glanced toward Octavia. “For both of you.”

            “Well speaking of going to the Hollow. We were wondering if you wanted to come back to our house to celebrate Madge’s win.”

            “I would love to go,” Octavia answered. “I’d love to see the books.”

            Madge nodded. She didn’t know what could be so interesting about her books and couldn’t help but wonder what her father had said to her about them. “Sure. Of course I can show you the books.”

            Her mother brought her arm around Madge, “Well then you can just follow us back to our place. We’ll see you.”

            xx

            “They weren’t supposed to ambush us like that!”

            “I don’t know if it counts as ambushing. We knew he was coming to the debate. You were the one who told me to invite him.”

            “I didn’t think they’d want to come over to our filthy house.”

            “It’s not filthy. We’re messy, not dirty.”

            “You might want to rethink that, daughter of mine. I’m pretty sure there’s takeout from last month in the fridge.”

            “Mom! That’s disgusting!”

            “I kept forgetting to clean it out before garbage day. Now before we get out, we need to get a plan together,” Madge watched her mother tap nervously on the steering wheel. “You focus on your room since she really wants to see the books! And I’ll take the living room. Whoever finishes first gets the kitchen, okay? Got it?”

            “Got it. But what are we going to feed them?”

            “Oh rats. Right. Food.”

            “I’d assume they’re expecting something, otherwise why would we invite them over.”

            “To see your books, duh.”

            “Was that weird, or was it just me?”

            “It was a little weird.”

            “Alright, get ready to clean as fast as you’ve ever cleaned in your life? It doesn’t have to be clean. It just has to look that way.”

            “I’m a Donner. I know how to clean for company.”

            “Good girl. Now let’s go! Go! Go!”

            It was a good thing Chilton had a uniform, or Madge was sure there’d be more clothing on the floor. She didn’t wear much makeup on a daily basis, so all that was scattered across her desk/vanity was eyeliner, BB cream, mascara and tinted lip balm. She slipped what makeup she did back into the bag where it belonged and moved along to the notes she’d been taking for her test next week in English. She attempted to organize the notes back into the binder where they belonged, but ended up just shoving them into the drawers of her desk. Madge made sure to fix up her bed, an undone bed made a room look messy, so a made up one would have to help a room look cleaner.

            The books were as organized as they could get without Madge doing an entire overhaul.

            She wiped off her skirt. She didn’t have the luxury to change, knowing their might be month-old takeout in their fridge.

            Madge had finished wiping off the counter when her father knocked on the front door.

            “We gave you guys a few extra minutes before knocking. I can’t believe you didn’t get pulled over. You guys must have been clocking in at ninety. If I didn’t know my way around Hartford we would’ve been lost.”

            “We were trying to prepare the house for guests,” Madge’s mother had gotten to the door before she could. “We’re not accustomed to entertaining.”

            “I don’t mean to be pushy, but—“

            “My room’s this way,” Madge peeked out from the kitchen.

            It was weird watching someone stare at her bedroom with such interest. “There are the books,” Madge added, gesturing toward the small bookcase over her dresser. “And there are some underneath my bed too.” She kneeled on the floor, lifting her blankets. She’d skip showing her the ones in her drawers.

            “How adorable. And you’ve read _all_ of these books?”

            “Most of them. There are a few I haven’t gotten through since school started. The life of a book lover, the influx of books I buy just doesn’t add up to how fast I can read them.”

            “I was never one for reading. The closest I got to books were fashion magazines,” Octavia added, thumbing through her paperback copy of _Nine Stories_. “Are these your notes? ”

            Madge shook her head, “No. They’re not. My friend, Gale, wrote some notes in it when he borrowed it.”

            “Now that’s romantic.”

            “He’s not my boyfriend,” Madge sputtered out. “I mean I have a boyfriend, but his name is Beau. Gale is just a friend.”

            “Oh,” Octavia smiled. “Then that’s very nice of Gale.”

            “Yeah,” Madge trailed off. “We should probably get back.”

            “Of course.”

            Her mother peeked her head into her bedroom. “Do either of you want anything to drink?”

            “Sure.”

            Her mother tipped her head thoughtfully. “I think we have water and…”

            “We have apple juice!” Madge added. She’d seen it when she was throwing out the old takeout. It probably wasn’t what they were used to, but apple juice was better than nothing.

            When she walked into the living room, she met her father’s eyes. He looked happy, city in her living room, in his dark denim and plaid button up. “Thank you for showing Octavia your books. I know she can be a little eccentric.”

            “But you like her?”

            He grinned. “Yeah Kiddo. I like her a lot, but enough about me. How’s school? I can see you’re kicking ass when it comes to debate, but what about the rest? Math and the like?”

             “I’m taking Pre-Calc right now. It’s good. I hear Calculus is better though.”

            “That sounds like a lie.”

            “I thought so too.” Madge chuckled. What could her mother and Octavia be talking about for so long in the kitchen? She was starting to worry. Her mother wasn’t one to start a fight, but Donners were known to finish them.

            “How’s the piano?”

            “I played for the grade school’s production of _Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?_ They had some great numbers. _”_

“Did I hear you say grade school?”

            “It was great. Next year, they’re planning on doing _Fiddler on the Roo—._ ”

            The phone rang interrupting her. Octavia passed her, glasses of apple juice in both of her hands. “Hello?”

            “Hey, it’s me.” Her mother replied, her voice in a low whisper. “Call me Gerald.”

            “Hello Gerald. It’s nice to hear from you.”

            “So Octavia, by the way, what kind of name is that? Anyway, your father told her that I can get you out of Friday night dinners if there’s an emergency. Now I wouldn’t consider you hanging out with your possible future stepmother an emergency, but what do I know? I just thought I’d ask to make sure you’re okay with it.”

            “Okay.”

            “So?”

            “So are you okay with hanging out with her and sending me to the wolves by myself? If you are then say ‘Gerald, right now I’m busy, but I’ll call you tomorrow.’”

            “Gerald, right now I’m busy, but I’ll call you tomorrow.”

            “Alright.”

            Her mother stepped into the living room, running her hands through her hair. “Who was that?”

            “Just Gerald.”

            “Who’s Gerald?” Her father asked, a smirk pulling the left side of his mouth upwards.

            “How can you explain Gerald?”

            “Well you could start with how you met him.”

            Her mother turned to her, eyebrows furrowed. “Do you remember how we met Gerald?”

            “I think it was at the Firelight Festival a few years back.”

            “Oh yes. That was it.”

            “You know, I would love to meet this Gerald.” Her father sounded amused, a boyish grin on his lips.

            “He’s actually out of town this week, but maybe the next time you’re in town. Gerald’s a real treat. You’ll love him.”

            “Everyone loves Gerald.”

            “So Madge, I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go to get dinner with me so we can get to know each other better.”

            Madge smiled, part of her was glad that her mother had warned her beforehand. “That sounds good to me.”

            “I can go with you to Friday night dinner if you’d like. Your parents have always loved me.” No matter how many failed business ventures, her grandparents adored her father. Madge wasn’t the only Donner holding out hope that her parents would end up together.

            Her mother scoffed. “Yeah, they like you more than they like me.”

            Octavia smiled. “So we should get going. Maybe we can fit in a movie after dinner if there’s enough time.”

            Madge smiled. “Just let me go get changed.” It was okay for her to be in her uniform for a couple hours after school, but well into evening? Not so much.

            She shut the door behind her, taking a deep breath. As long as she didn’t have to talk about her books the entire time, she’d be fine.

 

            


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gale and Haymitch look for an apartment and Gale cleans the Donner's gutters.

It was getting more and more obvious that the office his grandfather had once had above his (then) hardware store was never meant to be inhabited by one much less two grown men. His mother had finally gotten the time to send the rest of his things, or at least what mattered the most. His record collection along with his record player had stayed at the apartment since he did not trust USPS to pay attention to the fragile sticker on the side of a box. There was barely walking space in the apartment with the addition of his things.

            There were more books than anything. Gale had gotten observant when it came to book fairs happening all over the city. He also made it routine to visit several used bookstores at least every other week just in case anything good came in. Students were always selling their English books. If they didn’t appreciate _A Brave New World_ that didn’t mean Gale couldn’t. There were always too many copies of the classic high school English novels, so a few of them went to the clearance shelves in the way back. Bestsellers eventually found their way to the used bookstores; you just had to be patient. Over the years, Gale had accumulated a small library of his own, one that could definitely rival Madge’s, but with more used copies.

            He attempted to tame his hair in the small bathroom. He dug out a small amount of pomade from the jar, rubbing his fingertips together to warm the product. The first time he’d skipped that crucial step and almost ripped his hair out from the roots. His hair was getting too long, but this would have to do for now until he could get a haircut.

            “What were you doing in there?”

            Gale’s eyes slid toward the blonde beside his uncle. Madeline waved politely, bouncing on her heels. “I was trying to get my hair to look like it does in those shampoo commercials, but this is all I could manage before school starts.”

            Haymitch rolled his eyes. “Do you ever answer normally?”

            “Not really, but I don’t think you’d like it much if I tried.”

            “We’re looking for apartments tomorrow.”

            “If that’s what you want. I don’t care. I’m fine here.”

            “Of course you are,” he grumbled to Madeline.

            “Gale,” Madeline started, “If you wanted to make some extra money, we are in dire need of having our gutters cleaned.”

            “Uh, sure. When do you want me to—?”

            “After you guys finish apartment hunting you can swing by.”           

             “Sounds like a plan. I should, uh, get to school. Uh bye.” He waved, grabbing his backpack on his way out. The plans he had to catch up on his reading were obviously out the window now, but maybe he could lend his copy of _The ’59 Sound_ to Madge _._

xx

            In hindsight, they should have thought of a better way to remember the apartments. They were all blending into each other by the end of the afternoon.

            “I liked the one before the last one.” Gale said, glancing at his uncle.

            “The one with all the cats?” Haymitch glanced up from his newspaper, crossing off another apartment listing.

            “There wasn’t carpet in the apartment with the cats and it was just one cat.”

            “I hate cats. They leave a smell in the carpet and then you can’t ever get it out long after they’re gone.”           

            “It’s not like they come with the apartment. And like I said that one wasn’t the one with the carpets.”

            “If we pick the one with the cats then we’ll have to get candles to cover up the cat smell.” Haymitch murmured, glancing over the newspaper.

            “Candle shopping? Yeah and then afterwards maybe we can hold hands and skip.”

            “I don’t know how your mother talks to you.”

            “What about the second one? The one with the fireplace?” Gale offered instead.

            “You mean the one that costs $200 extra for a fireplace that we’ll never use?”

            “Then you pick!”

            Haymitch groaned. “I’m not going to pick an apartment by myself. Then you’ll hate it and I’ll have to hear you complain, like I don’t hear you do that enough.”

            “I don’t know why we even need to look for another apartment. The one above the diner is just fine.”

            “You say that because you’re not the one waiting outside the bathroom for hours on end or tripping over your perfectly placed stacks of books. Do they have to be right beside my bed so I can trip on them at four-thirty in the morning?”

            “Y’know those things have a mind of their own.”

            Haymitch scoffed. “We cannot stay up there. You’ll end up killing me or, more likely, I’ll end up killing you. So just tell me. Which one did you like?”

            He pulled up the sleeve of his jacket, glancing at his watch. It was twenty to noon. “I should be getting to Madeline’s.”

            “I already said I am not choosing an apartment on my own, Gale, and I meant it!”

            “Hey, if you want me to bail on her. I can do that too.”

            “I’ll take some Polaroid’s of the last three apartments.”

            “Doesn’t matter to me. Like I said, all of them were a-okay with me. So just pick whichever one you liked the most. I really don’t care.”           

            “Just get out of here! You’re no help as I expected. I guess I’ll just have to choose for myself.”

xx

            He was happy to see Madge answer the door instead of her mother. It wasn’t that Madeline wasn’t nice, because he could tell she tried her hardest to be polite and kind to him whenever they came into contact with each other, but things were awkward, despite her best efforts. The parents of his past girlfriends (if he would dare even call them that) had never liked him either and he was getting the same vibes from Madeline, but he could tell she was trying not to show her feelings so obviously.

            “Here,” he tossed a CD toward Madge.

            She took a step back, clutching the CD toward her chest. “What’s this?”

            “Trust me. You’ll like it.”

            “The Gaslight Anthem?” She asked, reading the cover.

            He leaned against the doorframe. “Trust me. You will like it, maybe even love it. The opening hook, I can’t really explain it, very small town Americana.”

            She chuckled, tossing her braid over her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I believe you.” Madge turned around, grabbing her jacket from the hook. He watched her put her arms through the black denim jacket, watching as she adjusted the fleece-lined collar. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to check it out when I get back.”

            “Where you going?” Gale asked, narrowing his eyes. He had assumed Madge was going to be here to serve as a buffer. Parents were not his thing. “I was sure you’d want to be around to watch me get elbow-deep in leaves and whatever other gunk you guys have up there.”

            The edges of Madge’s eyes crinkled as she chuckled. “As tempting as that sounds, there’s a book fair-fundraising thing happening at Plutarch’s and last year I made out like a bandit. Maybe I can get my mom to hook up the go pro to the tree just in case you fall off the roof.”

            “Ouch. What happened to small town charm?”

            “I’d say it’s going the way of the buffalo.”

            He stared at the intricate braid, peeking over her shoulder. There were wisps of her hair falling out of the braid and into her face. “Did you do something to your hair?”

            Madge looked shocked by his question. “Uhm. I wear my hair a lot like this. Does it look bad?”

            “I didn’t say bad, just different.”

            “Bad different or good different?” She asked, pulling her braid back over her shoulder, her fingers tugging on the small rubber band holding the braid together.

            “Just different.”

            She flushed under his gaze, averting her eyes away from him.

            “Madge! Come back! Someone’s about to get chopped!”

            “C’mon,” Madge gestured that he follow her away from the door and into the living room. “We’ve been binge watching Chopped. We’re obsessed with the Food Network.”

            “Guy Fieri is a God.”

            Madge laughed, “Welcome to Flavortown.”

            He kept his eyes on Madge, furrowing his eyebrows. He had no idea what that meant and he was vaguely positive that he didn’t want to either.

            “Alright,” Madeline paused, her eyes not moving away from the television. “Hi Gale. Let me just see who gets chopped and then I can get you to…” She drifted off, listening to the announcer. “And just who I thought. He never had a chance.” She stood, adjusting her skirt. “Let’s get you set up.”

            “Do you want something to drink? I went to the supermarket earlier today and got some soda. Do you want some cherry Coke? Or are you one of those people who will only drink Pepsi? Or worse, only drink RC?”

            “No, I’m not, but I’m alright for now.”

            “Here, just take one just in case you get thirsty.”

            Gale nodded his head awkwardly. “Okay.” He grabbed the can of Coke, putting it into the pocket of his jacket.

            “There’s a bucket with gloves and those scrapey things right outside and if you need anything I’ll be in here watching Chop—” The phone rang, interrupting her. “Or maybe not.”

            Gale headed outside, searching the porch for a supply-filled bucket, finding it beside a bush at the bottom of the stairs. “Let’s get this party started,” he muttered to himself.

            The back door shut behind him and he glanced up to see Madge march down the stairs in his direction. “Can I ask you a question?”

            “Shoot,” He grabbed the coke from his pocket placing it on the ground and slipped out off his jacket, placing it onto the banister.

            “You can be pretty talkative when you want to, I’d even dare call you verbose at times, but when my mom’s in the room you’re completely mute.”

            “And?”

            “And she’s my best friend and a very amazing woman if you would just take the time to know that.”

            “Why?”

            Madge furrowed her eyebrows. “Well she’s my mom and she’s friends with Haymitch. You guys should get along.”

            “That doesn’t necessarily mean I need to be close to your mother.”

            “If you care at all about me, you will try to get along with my mother.”

            Gale smirked. “What makes you think I care about you?”

            “I didn’t mean care like _care-care,_ but if you even like me even a little bit,” she rolled her eyes, “not like-like, just regular like.”

            The smirk on his lips only grew the more she spoke. “Okay.”

            “So you’ll be nice to my mom?”

            “The verbal thing comes and goes, but I’ll try. I can’t promise that it’ll work.”

            “Really?”

            “Parents tend not to like me, well, other than my own parents.”

            “Thanks. Well, I’ll be back in a little while. Beau’s going to meet me at the fundraiser. See you in a bit.”

            “See you,” Gale waved back, placing a handkerchief in his back pocket. Flustered looked good on her, very good.

xx

            He had nearly finished the west side of the house when he heard Madeline calling his name. He glanced down over the edge of the house. It was something you had to get used to, standing on a roof and maneuvering around on top of it. He tried to keep low to avoid falling over. “Sorry. Am I being too loud? I can quiet down.”

            “No, you’re fine. I was just wondering if you wanted some lunch.”

            “No, I’m okay.”

            She frowned. “Well if you change your mind, it’s all out on the kitchen table.” He watched her turn to leave.

            The conversation he had had with Madge came to mind. “Are you sure there’s enough?”

            Madeline chuckled. “Me and Madge always order enough for twenty.”

            “If you’re sure then okay.”

            “Just come down whenever you’re ready.”

            “I’m ready now.”

            “Alright.”

            Their kitchen table was almost covered completely in Chinese takeout boxes.

            “The left side is beef and the right side is chicken. Go wild.”

            He held up his dirty hands. “I was thinking I should wash my hands first.”

            “Yes, that would be good. The hand soap is beside the dish soap.” She chuckled to herself. “That makes it seem like we’re hyper cleanly. Two types of soap right beside each other.”

            “I get it. My mom says dish soap is too rough on her hands too.”

            “Exactly! Madge used to complain that I was being too precious.”

            “I get it.”

            “So…” Madeline trailed off. They gave each other awkward smiles. “How is the search for an apartment going?”

            “It’s alright. Haymitch can be really particular.”

            “You’re telling me.”

            “Did you see any good apartments? There are some good ones on Peach Street and Lemon Avenue and even on Apricot Lane. Your chance is good with any of the fruit-named streets.”

            “I don’t know what streets they were on. I wasn’t really paying attention. Haymitch seemed to be going on what was in the newspaper.”

            “I’ll make sure to tell him in case you guys missed those.”

            There was a prolonged silence between them.

            Gale rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not really good with small talk.”

            Madeline smiled. It was obvious to anyone with eyes how much Madeline and Madge looked alike, bright blue eyes (Madge’s were a tinge darker, but still bright), blonde hair (though Madge’s was a bit lighter, more platinum than golden), but he could really see Madge in Madeline’s smile. They were identical to a t; the exact same dimpled bottom lip, the same crinkled eyes.

            “You’re doing just fine. Don’t worry about it,” she tipped a box toward him, “Cold egg roll?”

            He shrugged his shoulders, taking the egg roll.

            Madeline was serving herself some leftover General Tso’s chicken when the front door opened and Madge started screaming for her mother.

            At the sound of her daughter, she rushed toward the front door, forgetting all about him. “What’s wrong?”

            Parts of their conversation were muffled so Gale stood and walked toward the hallway to better figure out what was happening. From his place in the hallway he watched both women walk into the living room, Madge frantically searching underneath the couch and under its cushions.

            “It’s gone! I searched everywhere for it! You should have seen the look on Beau’s face when he noticed it was gone.”

            “Well he couldn’t have thought you lost it on purpose.”

            “I told him that it was giving me a rash so I took it off for a couple of days. I don’t think he bought it. He looked really upset. I have to find it!”

            “Did you check your room? Maybe the bracelet caught on your sheets when you were sleeping and you didn’t notice.”

            Gale backed away, heading back outside to finish his job. The gutters weren’t going to clean themselves.

            As he climbed the ladder to the roof he thought about the missing bracelet in his jacket pocket, right in his breast pocket where he had left it, where it had stayed since he found it two weeks ago.

            He knew better. He really did know better. His mother would be really fucking sore with him if she found out he stole a bracelet. Well, stealing wasn’t the right word. The bracelet had fallen off on the bridge during their picnic and he had neglected to tell her then or give it back later. After the first few minutes, it already seemed too late. She would ask why he hadn’t given it back right when he saw it and he wouldn’t have the words to tell her the reasons why.

            Then it transformed into an experiment. How long would it take before she noticed? Now he would never know. She didn’t notice until Beau pointed it out. Maybe she never would have.

            The back door shut and Madeline walked toward their Jeep, assumedly searching for the bracelet that was currently in his pocket.

            xx

            Madeline had been gone around twenty minutes when he decided it was safe enough to go inside to return the bracelet.

            He felt like a thief creeping into the house, except they knew he was here and most thieves didn’t replace the things they stole. (Except he didn’t steal it. She dropped it and he didn’t give it back immediately.) He felt even creepier alone in her bedroom.

            The bookshelf distracted him; her copy of _Nine Stories_ was missing _._ Well it wasn’t back in the place it had been before he had swiped it. He slid his fingers over the spines of the books, glancing over the titles. Her taste in books was far wider than his; he didn’t care much for poetry or biographies, except for a few choice ones. But Madge didn’t seem to be so picky; he noted a copy of Lucille Ball’s autobiography and a few shelves down a copy of Ben Franklin’s. Quite the range.

            He kneeled down on the ground, sliding the bracelet into the far left corner of the bed, where she could have missed it if she was searching in a hurry. There were a few shorter stacks of books beside her bed. On top, was the copy he had swiped, open as if he she had been reading it before she went to bed.

            The front door slammed shut and he stood, moving out of her bedroom. If he could get to the kitchen before anyone saw him, he wouldn’t have to explain himself. But luck had a tendency to be stacked against him and he found himself eye to eye with Madeline Undersee.

            She narrowed her eyes at him. “Is there a reason why I found you coming from my daughter’s bedroom?”

            “I wanted to see if Madge had a copy of _A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius_.”

            Madeline crossed her arms over her chest. So much for the nice conversation they had shared during lunch.

            “It’s there. She had it.”

            “That’s good.”

            “Yeah, I better go finish…” He trailed off, heading out the back door. Madeline was not stupid. There was no way she believed his story back there.

            Half an hour later, he was happy he had taken the Coke Madeline had offered and lowered himself to take a drink. He deserved a small break. He sat on the steps, taking a few drinks. Cherry Coke had always been Vick’s favorite. If their mother would let them, he would drink a couple two liters a day.

            The back door slammed shut and Gale caught sight of Madge’s jacket in his peripheral before she was sitting beside him, her elbows on her knees, a sigh falling from her lips.

            “What’s up?”

            “I lost Beau’s bracelet and I can’t find it.”

            “Is it really such a big deal? It’s just a bracelet.”

            “It was a birthday present.” She ran her fingers through the bits of hair that framed her face. “I need to get this bracelet back before he makes it out to be more than what it is. It’s just, things have been kind of weird between us.” She chuckled to herself. “You do not want to hear about this.”

            “You shouldn’t assume. I’d love to hear all about that.”

            Madge stared blankly at him. “Don’t be cute.”

            “Now that’s just impossible.”

            “I better go. I forgot to check Haymitch’s. See you later.”

            “Maybe you should check the house again before you go. When something’s missing, it’s usually hiding in plain sight. Y’know?”

            “Maybe you’re right. Another check can’t hurt. It would save me the trip anyway.”

            Five minutes later he heard Madge scream in delight.

xx           

             There was barely enough room in their garbage cans for the bags of leaves and gunk he had collected, but he tried his best.

            He had barely slipped his jacket back on when he heard Madeline calling his name.

            “Don’t you want your money?”

            Gale was hoping he’d be able to avoid Madeline for the foreseeable future.

            “It’s not like I don’t know where you live. I didn’t think you were going to hold out on me or anything.”

            Her chuckle was nowhere near genuine. “Well I’ve got your money, so you might as well get it now.”

            He adjusted the collar on his jacket, walking back toward her.

            “Why’d you do it?”

            “Excuse me?” He answered. It was always better not to incriminate yourself.

            “I know you hate this place, but I thought you liked Madge.”

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “I know you took her bracelet.”

            “What?”

            “That bracelet is the most precious thing Madge owns. She wears it every single day. She never takes it off, not for a second.” She shook her head. “I just don’t know why you would do it. Are you jealous? Because Madge is with Beau? Is this your way of getting back at him? I don’t know. I won’t pretend to, but you didn’t hurt him by taking that bracelet. You hurt her. She was looking around everywhere, all day. She was so scared she wouldn’t find it.”

            “I didn’t take it.”

            “Then how would you have it, Gale?”

            “She didn’t even notice it was gone. It’s been two weeks.”

            “You know what? It really doesn’t matter. Here,” she handed him his payment for the day’s work. He shoved it into his pocket.

            He turned to walk away, but paused. “I don’t know why I did it, okay? But I didn’t think he’d freak out and make a big deal about it.”

            Madeline sighed. “I actually believe you.”

            It wasn’t much, but it was good enough for Gale.

           


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madge just wants to spend the weekend alone, but no one will let her (especially Gale).

The under construction signs hung in the windows of Haymitch’s might have been a deterrent if it wasn’t the best place in town for a cup of coffee. As long as the dust and plaster stayed out of their coffee cups, the Donner girls were happy. They’d barely gotten a chance to sit down before Haymitch approached them. “You can’t sit there,” he said.

            Her mother narrowed her eyes at him before asking, “Why not?” It wouldn’t be the first time Haymitch attempted to thwart their many attempts to drink enough cups of coffee to get them into the Guinness World Records book.

            “Three people have been injured while sitting at this very table.”

            “Three this morning?”

            He gave her a look. “I’m trying to run a business here. Try and keep it down.”

            Her phone began to ring and she dug into her bag in search of it.

            “Take it outside. The sign is still up, construction or not,” Haymitch gestured toward the sign beside the landline, reading ‘NO CELL PHONES’ with a photo of a cell phone crossed out above it.

            “Fine,” she stood, leaving her purse. “Order me a muffin and a doughnut. Coffee too.”

            Madge rolled her eyes. “Hello, I’m a Donner too.” She glanced around for Gale and as if on cue, he appeared behind her.

            “You’re going to want to hold this.” An umbrella was thrust into her hands.

            “Real cute,” Haymitch muttered, filling her coffee cup. She moved to lower it, but he tugged it back into place. “Just keep it there.”

            “Okay,” the word had barely left her mouth before it began to rain drywall on her head.

            Her mother came back in, dusting off her chair before sitting. “Are we going to do that _Singing in the Rain_ number like I’ve always wanted?”

            “Maybe later,” Madge glanced nervously toward the ceiling. “Come closer.”

            Her mother’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she did as she was told, barely missing another downpour of debris. “At least the coffee’s good,” her mother commented, taking another sip of her coffee.

            “Yeah, the coffee’s especially good today.”

xx

            It was hard to pretend not to be absolutely ecstatic when her mother gave her the news, a weekend with the house to herself. They might be best friends, but there were some things Madge could only do when she was home alone. It was rare and she could count on one hand the times it had happened, but Madge quite liked being home alone.

            Not to mention her mother deserved a spa weekend away, even if she was dreading spending it with her grandmother.

            There was a small pile of clothes on her mother’s bed, beside her weekend bag. It was only two nights and Madge figured they were most likely going to stay in their robes for the most part, but knowing her grandmother formal clothes for dinner would be a requirement. Dinner was never an informal affair, not in Eleanor Donner’s book at least.

            Madge took extra care to roll up her mother’s clothes and place them carefully into the bag. If it were up to her mother, she would just cram them in until they fit. No care for all of the wrinkles that would result.

            “Thank you so much. I can’t wait.” Her mother hung up the phone, writing something down. “So I just got off the phone with the spa and I’ve rearranged our itinerary. Right as I’m smack dab in the middle of getting my pedicure she’ll be in the next room starting her facial. We’ll miss each other by about fifteen minutes the entire day. If everything goes as planned, I won’t have to see her until dinner. It’ll be great!”

            “Mom.”

            “Well it’s not my fault she manipulated me into thinking I was going to be spending this weekend alone. I would’ve thought of an excuse if she had told me that we were going to be trapped together all weekend.”

            “You won’t be trapped. You’ll be in separate rooms.”

            “That is nice. But enough about me, tell me about the rager you’re planning on throwing this weekend while Mommy’s away.”

            “The plan consists of me in my comfiest pajamas doing my laundry exactly the way I like, ordering Indian food, then going to sleep early.”

            Her mother rolled her eyes. “Try not to spend the entire weekend alone. Hermit it up one of the days, but spend at least half of the weekend with civilization. Invite Katniss over to watch movies and pig out or something.”

            “Yeah, but I kind of want to be home alone. Y’know, I might even fall asleep on the couch with the TV on.”

            “I think I would wonder if you were really my daughter if I wasn’t there when you came out of me.” Her mother looked wistful for a moment, before she started chuckling. “Your father would have jumped at the chance to walk through the front door instead of sneaking through my bedroom window for a change.”

            “You can stop now. I don’t need to know the details of my conception.” Madge closed the bag. “You’re all set.”

            “Just push me out the door, why don’t you? Are you sure you’re not having a party? Is the guy with the keg arriving soon?”

            “I can’t have a party. I have school in an hour.”

            Her mother leaned forward and smoothed down her hair. “You’re so innocent. You are aware that some kids skip school, especially when their mommies are away and wouldn’t know the difference.”

            She shook her head vehemently. “But I have an exam next week in Chemistry and today we’re getting our labs back. I can’t miss any of that.”

            Her mother pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re one of the good ones, Kid—“

            A honking car interrupted their moment.

            “I think that’s Grandma.”

            “Are you kidding me? Your mother would think it’s undignified. A honking car? It’s practically an automobile belching.”

            Madge glanced out the window, where a limousine was currently parked in their driveway. “I don’t think we know anyone else who would come to our house in a limo.”

            “Oh no,” her mother groaned. “Please tell me you’re kidding me.”

            Madge stood, handing the packed bag to her mother along with a light jacket. They walked down the stairs, her mother complaining all the while.

            Madge threw open the door. “Hi Grandma!”

            Her grandmother grinned. “Why hello Madge!”

            “You seem happy,” her mother added, a thermos of fresh coffee in hand.

            “How could I not be? We’re going away for a weekend at a spa. I’m practically giddy!”

            It was nice to see her grandmother so impassioned. Her grandmother was the very definition of ‘prim and proper.’ And most of the time that meant keeping a poker face at all times.

            “Well, we must be going. We have a long and relaxing day ahead of us.”

            She shared hugs with each of them. “Have a good time, you two!” Madge called out, waving out the front door. Despite their past record, she was still hopeful that they would have a nice weekend together.

            Madge took a deep breath, smiling to herself. She was going to get so much done this weekend.

xx

            The ‘A’ written in red at the top of her lab was a good enough reason for Madge to be happy she skipped the “rager” her mother had in mind and made it to school. She flipped through it, checking through her work. There was always room for improvement.

            Delly was chattering away toward the front of the classroom, and before she knew it she was standing directly beside her.

            “Yes?”

            “Do you have a date planned this weekend?”

            Madge glanced back down at the pages in front of her. “What? Why?”

            “I got an A- on my lab.”

            “And? That’s a good thing.”

            “I’ve never gotten an A- in my entire life. You don’t get into Harvard with an A- on your labs. I need you to help me study for the test next week. With an A- on my labs I’m sure to get a B on the exam and then I’ll have to settle for state schools!”

            “What are you going on about?”

            “State schools, Donner! I can’t go to a state school! Cartwrights don’t go to state schools!”

            “Calm down.” Madge ran her fingers through her hair. “Why don’t you see how you do on next week’s exam and if you still need help then I’ll help you study for as long as you like, within reason.”

            “What do you consider within reason? My definition may be far different than yours, Madge.”

            “Three hours without a bathroom break is not within reason.”

            “Well, if you’re in there primping and reapplying your lip gloss then that’s completely unreasonable!” She huffed, practically stomping her feet. “If I had just revised that seventh time like I had planned none of this would have happened.”

xx

            Madge ran her fingers through Beau’s hair, pressing a kiss to the edge of his jaw. He dipped his head, sliding his lips over hers, his tongue running along the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to enter.

            Though she didn’t have a lot of experience, she thought Beau was a great kisser. He was her first kiss. It had happened at Coin’s Market and she was so shocked she ran away clutching a box of cornstarch. It was the first time she had ever stolen anything.

            “So your mom’s not going to be home this weekend.” Beau pressed kisses down her neck and along her jaw.

            “Yeah.”

            “So I was thinking maybe we could rent some movies, get some food, maybe spend some time together without your mother or mine in the other room.”

            “Well, I kind of wanted to spend the night alone. Tomorrow, we’re going to spend the entire day together. I’m your girl all day tomorrow though.”

            “Your mom’s away and you want to spend the entire night alone?”

            “Yeah, she never lets me do the laundry the way I like. This might be my last chance for a long time!” She pressed a kiss to his lips, a grin on her lips, her eyes shining.

            “You want to be alone to do laundry?” His eyebrows furrowed and he pulled away, looking distraught.

            It wouldn’t be the first time that someone didn’t understand Madge’s hermit-like tendencies. The problem wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy spending time with her loved ones, it was that she rarely got the chance to spend time by herself without someone “popping in” and bursting her alone-time bubble.

            “Yeah, Mom only separates the clothes by delicate, normal, and towels. I like to separate by type and then by color, lights, whites, and darks, but then also separate them a bit further. It’s hard to explain, but I can’t wait.”

            “You can’t wait to do laundry? You’d rather do laundry then hang out with me?”

            “No!” Madge pressed another kiss to his lips. “It’s not that I don’t want to hang out with you. I’m going to hang out with you all day tomorrow and I can’t wait for that either! But laundry without my mother! That’s the dream!”

            “I am the best boyfriend in the world. You realize this, right?”

            She chuckled. “Yes, you are.”

            “I think I’m eligible for sainthood now.”

            “Definitely. I’ll make sure to have your papers into the Vatican as soon as possible.”

xx

            It was five-thirty and she’d finished two loads of delicates. Madge figured she had done enough to earn an early dinner. She was in the middle of her order to Sandeep’s when the call waiting rang. “One second.” She clicked over. “Hello?”

            “Uh hey, I got the keg. When do you want me to come over?” It was her mother doing a horrible impression of a frat guy. Try as she might (and she did often), she was horrible at impressions.

            “Hold on.” She clicked back over. “Yeah, and that should finish my order. Thank you.” She hung up. “What do you want?”

            “Are you sure you’re okay alone? Do you need me to come back?”

            “Shouldn’t you be getting a facial or taking a mud bath?”

            “The mud bath is at the end of the day. I was just making sure you didn’t need me to come home for any special reason.”

            “I’m good.”

            “Who were you on the other line with?”

            “Sandeep’s.”

            Her mother groaned. “Make sure to burn the house down when you’re done. It’s the only way we’ll get rid of the smell.”           

            The doorbell rang, interrupting her before she could respond. “Oh well I better go get the door.”

            “You can stay on. Cell phones are cordless! I’d love to know who’s there!”

            “Bye, Mom!”

            She hung up, placing her phone on the coffee table. The knocking became more incessant as the seconds passed. “Keep your pants on,” she muttered.

            The door was barely open when Delly pushed her way through, already mid-rant, “I tried to study. I really did. I tried to go over my notes, but then I couldn’t even read my serial killer handwriting. I spent two hours trying to read one page of notes. I was ready to pull my hair out. So here I am.”

            “I was going to ask what you were doing here, but I think you’ve already answered that question.”

            Delly gaped at her. “You’re here in your pajamas,” she glanced at the hamper filled with clothes, “doing laundry?” She dropped her bag. “I thought you had some big date planned.”

            “I never said that.” Madge sighed. “My mom’s gone for the weekend and I never get the house to myself, so I just wanted to enjoy it.”

            “Oh, you mean your mother doesn’t like to spend long stretches of time away from you?”

            Madge groaned. “Fine, I’ll give you one hour, but no longer than that.”

            “I think you just earned your wings, Donner!”

xx                       

            At the chime of the doorbell, Madge stood, yelling for Delly to begin gathering her things. “I gave you an extra thirty minutes. It’s time to go.”

            She had been expecting her delivery of Indian food, not Gale at her door with a box full of food from Haymitch’s.

            “Special delivery,” he announced, a smirk on his lips. Was there ever a time when one wasn’t?

            “What are you doing here?”

            “Well, Haymitch figured with your mom away, you might be going without food, so he sent over some food.”

            “I already ordered Indian.”

            “You might want to burn the house down after. That’s the only way you’ll get rid of the smell.”

            “Cute,” she sighed.

            “Where should I put this?” Madge paused, considering the question. “Kitchen?” Gale slid past her, down the hall and into her kitchen. He placed the box onto the kitchen table and began unpacking its contents.

            “This is a lot of food! This could feed an entire city!”

            Gale scoffed. “Please, I’ve seen you eat.”

            “Fine, a town.”

            “He wanted to make sure you had enough until your mom came back. He wasn’t sure how long she was going to be away.”

            “It’s just for tonight. She’s coming back tomorrow.”

            “He didn’t know that.”

            “Well, make sure to tell him.”

            “I will.”

            “Why didn’t Chaff bring them over?” The jovial cook usually made the deliveries, for as long as Madge could remember.

            “I volunteered.”

            “Why?”

            “I just needed to get away for a little bit. Haymitch isn’t very soft-spoken, but since these guys have come in, all he’s done is yell and those guys yell back, not to mention all the drilling and hammering. I can’t even think over there right about now, much less read.”

            Madge nodded. “Oh.”

            “You didn’t think I was coming over here just to see you or something, right?” Sometimes, she hated how he looked her right in the eyes, his gaze trained onto her. She spent more time then she would like to admit wondering what exactly he was seeing through his steel-colored eyes. What was he looking so hard at?

            “No!”

            “I just needed a little peace and quiet.”

            “Fine.”

            “That’s all.”

            “Okay.”

            “Just needed to clear my head.”

            “Yep.”

            He leaned onto a chair. “Do you plan on eating any time soon?”

            “Yeah, in a bit.”

            “Well, you don’t want the food to get cold.”

            “It’ll be fine.”

            “Fries suck when they get cold.”

            Madge glanced at the food spread across her kitchen table. “Yeah, they do suck.” She looked back to see Gale looking at her expectantly. “What?”

            “You forgot to give me a tip.”

            “You want money?”

            “Not particularly, a fry would be good though.”

            “Have as much as you want.”

            He undid the buttons of his jacket, placing it onto the back of the chair he’d been previously leaning against. He moved to fold the sleeves of his flannel.

            “You’re staying?”

            “Didn’t you just invite me?”

            “What?”

            “You said I could have as much as I want. Now, that sounded a lot like an invitation to me. How can I be sure exactly how much I’ll want anyway?”

            “You want to stay here?”

            “It beats being at Haymitch’s.”

            “But—“

            “I can’t find my flash cards!” Delly announced, marching into the kitchen. She paused for a moment at the sight of Gale. “Oh, I didn’t know I was interrupting something. Call me if you find them. I’ll see you on Monday.”            

            “No!” Madge yelled, surprising herself. “Stay. Gale brought over enough food.”

            “Oh, are you sure?”

            “Definitely, I’ll go over the notes another time after too.”

            “Deal! Just let me call Nanny!”

            Madge stuffed her hands into her pocket, listening to Delly make the call from the living room.

            “What was that?” Gale asked his eyebrows furrowed.

            “What was what?”

            “You think we need a chaperone or something?”

            “No, but it’s a lot of food. I was trying to be polite.”

            “We’re down to only feeding a lousy town with me.”

            “And with Delly we’re down to a village. It’s still a lot of food.”

            He scoffed, sitting down.

            She fought back the urge of telling him to get out of her seat.

xx

            “You know, I actually tried to read it,” Delly admitted, dipping a french fry into a puddle of ketchup.

            “You’re kidding me!” Gale yelled, his thick eyebrows rose toward his hairline. “I thought you were obsessed with the classics.”

            Delly shrugged. “I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about.”

            “What about you?”

            Madge flushed under his gaze and took a bite of her burger in a poor attempt at avoiding the question.

            “You cannot be serious!”

            “I never said I liked it or anything! But when I’m speaking critically about something I want to know about it.”

            “Exactly!” Delly added.

            “Prim loved it! I wanted to know why. Plus, I don’t discriminate when it comes to literary genres.”

            “Alright, alright, alright, I’ll try to refrain from teasing you until the end of time about this, but I have one question. Team Edward or Team Jacob?”

            Madge tossed a fry at him. “Shut up!”

            “You’re talking a lot of trash for someone who’s probably never read anything by the Brontë sisters.”

            “Hey! I read _Wuthering Heights._ And I read tons of novels written by women, if that’s the point you were trying to make. I’ll have you know one of my favorite books is _The Awakening._ “

            The two blondes looked to Gale with surprise etched across their features.

            “That’s pretty shocking. I took you as a worshipper of Kerouac or something.”

            Gale laughed, deep and loud. “I am.”

            The conversation was interrupted by Madge’s ringing cell phone. At the sight of Beau’s name, she answered, standing to talk more privately in the living room.

            “Hey, what’s up?”

            “I got off work, picked up your favorite ice cream and am heading over to your place as we speak.”

            No. Just tell him no, she thought, but thought better. “You can’t. I look terrible. We’re hanging out tomorrow. You can see me then.”

            “I’ll be there soon, babe.”

            He hung up before she could respond. Taking a deep breath, Madge walked back into the kitchen, making a big show of looking at the watch on her wrist. “Well, look at the time. It’s getting quite late. Gale, thank you for bring the food. Tell Haymitch thank you for providing it. See you later.”

            Gale didn’t move a muscle. “Who was on the phone?”

            “No one.”

            “No one doesn’t happen to be on his way over here right about now, does he?”

            Delly, with a mouthful of mac and cheese asked, “What’s happening?”

            Gale stood, grabbing the jacket Madge was pushing into his hands. “Beau is on his way over and Madge doesn’t want him to see me here.”

            “Why?”

            “Yeah, Madge, why? I would love to hear this one.”

            “You know why, Gale.” Madge pushed at his shoulder blades, guiding him toward the front door.            

            He dragged his feet, chuckling as she struggled to get him to move a couple feet into the hallway. “Gale, please. Do this for me. I don’t want to fight with Beau.”

            “Fine,” he sighed, putting his arms through his jacket. “You are no fun.”

            “Nope. So, thank you again.”

            “Say hello to Beau for me. Tell him I’m sad to have missed his veiny forehead, but hope to see it again someday.”

            “Gale!” She pushed him through the door.

            “Well, I guess I can tell him myself.”

           


End file.
